Book of Darkness
by Aynslesa
Summary: Four years after Score, Helaine and Pixel entered the Diadem, their past lives finally began to catch up with them. Now the Chosen Three must face what they fear the most -- their past.
1. Once Again, Peace Descends on the Diadem

**Book of Darkness**

_And I'd give up forever to touch you_

_'Cause I know that you feel me somehow_

_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't wanna go home right now_

_And all I can taste is this moment_

_And all I can breathe is your life_

_And sooner or later it's over_

_I just don't wanna miss you tonight_

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming_

_Or the moment of truth in your lies_

_When everything feels like the movies_

_And you bleed just to know you're alive_

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

_                              'Iris' © Goo Goo Dolls_

**Chapter One: Once Again, Peace Descends on the Diadem__**

A dark gash appeared in the air in the middle of a large but definitely deserted castle. A boy stumbled out, approximately sixteen in age, and immediately collapsed onto the nearest piece of furniture – a couch that seemed somewhat out of place in the medieval-looking structure. 

"That's the last time!" he said, covering his mouth to stifle a yawn. "Next time Shanara wants us to intervene on some planet on the behalf of someone to keep peace somewhere, I'm staying home!" 

His two companions, who had followed him out of the Portal just before it closed, exchanged glances. They'd heard this speech before – and the next time Shanara, Wizard of Shapes, requested their assistance, he'd be right there with them. Or, rather, several steps behind and complaining loudly, but he'd still come along. "It wasn't _that bad, Score," said the other boy. He, too, was about sixteen, but considerably smaller than Score. With his pointed ears, blue complexion, and lithe body, Shalar "Pixel" Domain was more apt to be confused for an elf rather than be recognized as one of the three best magic-users in the known Diadem. _

Matthew "Score" Caruso gave his best male friend the most withering glare he could manage…which had absolutely no effect as he struggled not to fall asleep at the same time. "_You weren't the one who had to hold back an entire ocean of water! Why didn't Shanara __tell us Echo Rin was an __aquatic planet and most of the people resembled fish?! I couldn't look at their Elder without imagining him fried with tartar sauce and a slice of lemon!" _

The third person in the room, a tall blonde girl, tossed her hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. Helaine "Renald" Votrin had very little patience for Score when he was in this sort of mood – which was quite often. "Perhaps the fact that if she _had, you would've complained twice as much. She __did mention that having your chrysolite would be a good idea." _

"Whatever," Score said, shrugging. He yawned again, not even _trying to cover it up this time. "Okay, here's the plan: I'm going to bed. You two can do whatever you want, just don't bother me until morning. And I plan on sleeping in. If either of you so much as __thinks about waking me up before noon, you will both be getting very unpleasant surprises in your breakfast." He managed to climb to his feet, making a much bigger production out of it than necessary. "'Night, guys."_

"Good night, Score," Helaine and Pixel said together. Score sleep-walked up the stairs towards the area he had designated as "his" wing (a series of three or four rooms, including one bathroom). 

Helaine immediately collapsed onto the couch he had just vacated. "Phew. That battle _did take a bit out of me – and our opponent wasn't eve that challenging." _

Pixel sat down on a chair opposite the couch and tried to look awake. "I know. But we managed to get it over with without _too much trouble, and we even saved the population of Echo Rin from completely wiping themselves out." The fish-people of Echo Rin had been on the verge of extinction due to a spell placed on them that set them against each other everything five years. Helaine, Pixel, and Score had managed to get rid of the spell just before the next five-year-mark would've occurred, saving the Rinians. Of course, they'd also ended up getting in a fight with the magician who had placed the spell originally – a magician made completely out of water. _

Needless to say, it had been an interesting battle, but now they were back home on Dondar looking forward to some much-needed downtime. Shanara had promised that she'd handle the next few difficulties for awhile. Keeping the peace in the Diadem was no walk in the park, not even for the three most powerful magic-users around. 

Helaine sighed. "I suppose it's too late to go see Flame," she said, glancing at one of the large windows looking out into the courtyard. 

"Yes," Pixel said firmly. The sky was almost pitch-black, and the stars were already out. "I think that this time, anyway, we should follow Score's example and get some sleep. We want to be back up to full strength as soon as possible."

Helaine looked at him curiously. "You think we're going to have trouble?" she asked him. Pixel was already beginning to earn the title of Wizard of Sight, due to the fact that he could usual see things that most people couldn't, with only the sketchiest of information. It was a talent he'd had from the beginning, and one that only got better with age. The blue-skinned youth modestly refused the title, but Helaine knew of several people who referred to him by it on a regular basis. 

"No, not necessarily," Pixel said, shaking his head. "I probably shouldn't say anything – I might end up jinxing everything. It's just that you never know, and it's better to be safe than sorry."

"True," agreed Helaine. That was a phrase they'd all learned to live by over the last four years. She struggled not to yawn, and stood up. "Then I suppose it's off to bed. If you're up before me, try to wake me before Score. I refuse to sleep as long as he does."

Pixel grinned. "No problem. See you tomorrow, Helaine." 

"Tomorrow," Helaine agreed, heading for her own wing of rooms. The castle was spacious enough that there was plenty of room for both of them, and then some. Helaine didn't mind it – she was used to castles – but even she thought that it was a little spacious for just the three of them. Her father's castle on Ordin had been about the same size, perhaps a little bigger, but had also been filled with people coming and going, day and night. It was a very different lifestyle from the one she had today.

And she loved it. 

Not a day went by that she didn't thank whoever it was that had chosen them for this path for choosing her. Before journeying onto the Diadem, she'd been forced to play the part of a "good girl", submitting to her father like a meek child, obeying his every whim. She'd done a good job of acting, probably due to the fact that when she got angry, she could just go out as Renald and take part in the fight training. _If I were still on Ordin, she thought, __I wouldn't even be Helaine Votrin anymore – I'd be Helaine Peverel__. She shuddered at the thought of the half-wit her father had tried to marry her off to before this whole crazy adventure had started. _

Now, instead of servants waiting on her hand and foot, and an idiot husband who didn't know the first thing about running a kingdom, she had two of the best friends any person could ask for. 

Helaine entered her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She moved through autopilot as she dressed for bed, then collapsed gratefully onto her bed. She probably wouldn't sleep too late, but right now, sleeping for any amount of time was good. 

_I'll go see Flame tomorrow, she told herself as she drifted off to sleep. _

The castle was silent once again, the only sounds those of the breathing of the three teenagers as they slept peacefully. 

Peace that would, unfortunately, only last so long. For they were the Chosen Three, the Triad reborn, and they would always be hunted in some way. No matter how many times they tried to escape from that reality, it would always catch up to them. There were plenty of people with grudges against the Triad. 

A there were many of those who could care less that Helaine, Score, and Pixel were only the physical reincarnations of Eremin, Traxis, and Nantor, and not their souls. 


	2. Peace is a Void Issue

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter 2: Peace is a Void Issue**

Score didn't know what had woken him up. One minute, he was sleeping like a baby, the next, he was sitting up in bed, wide awake. There wasn't a sound in the castle, and there wasn't a sound outside the castle, either. At least, none that he could identify as enough to warrant enough trouble that he needed to wake up. 

But something was definitely wrong, and he wasn't going to manage to get any sleep without knowing what it was. 

He threw back the blankets and grabbed a shirt, pulling it over his head. Then, in nothing but a tanktop and boxers, he pulled open the door to his room and charged into the hallway. 

Only to stop centimeters away from the point of a really, really sharp sword. 

"Lord, Helaine!" he shouted, realizing how close he had come to being impaled by the weapon. "Watch where you point that thing!" 

Helaine immediately sheathed her sword, and Score took the time to notice that she was still in her nightgown. She'd just taken time to grab her weapon. "Were you woken up, too?" she asked. 

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Something's making my skin crawl here."

"Mine as well," she replied. "I'm sensing danger, but I'm not sure from where. When your door swung open, I reacted on instinct. I'd forgotten where your bedroom was." She eyed him critically. "Interesting attire." 

"I could say the same for you," Score shot back, raising an eyebrow at her. To his surprise, she looked down and blushed, eyes wide. 

"Ooops," she muttered, and he almost burst out laughing at the puzzled expression on her face. That urge immediately vanished when the sound of something breaking echoed down the hallway. 

"Pixel!" they shouted in unison. Score took a second to grab his emerald, then followed after Helaine, who was already moving with her sword drawn. 

Pixel's door was ajar, and they paused cautiously outside of it. "I don't hear anything," Helaine whispered, looking at Score. 

"Neither do I," Score said back. "Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"

"Depends," she replied. "But I've still got that sense of trouble brewing." 

Score nodded. Then, slowly, he knocked on the door. "Pixel? We're coming in." Helaine stepped forward and tried to push the door open, but there was something blocking it. Giving Score a concerned glance, she stepped back, then kicked it hard. The door shot inward and whatever was in the way was thrown against the opposite wall.

It had been Pixel's mattress. Helaine and Score stood in the doorway, staring into the room with total shock. "My God," Score breathed. "What the hell happened here?"

The room was a mess. The mattress was torn and ripped. The bedding was shredded. The mirror on one wall was now on the floor, in pieces. That must've been what they'd heard breaking. There was a dent in one wall, indicating that something hard had hit it with brutal force. 

"Score," Helaine said, a strange tone in her voice. She pointed at something on the dresser. Score looked, and his throat tightened. 

Four gemstones sat on the wooden tabletop: a ruby, a beryl, a topaz, and a jacinth. Untouched, and in the exact same position that Pixel left them when he went to bed every night. 

The two magic-users looked at them. "He didn't even have time to grab them," Score said. "Where is he, Helaine?"

"I…I don't know," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "We didn't sense anything…nothing at all."

"Not true," Score said. "We woke up. But whatever happened, we woke up too late. And I get the feeling that was exactly what whoever-it-was was counting on." 

They both knew that. Knew that they had woken up too late and too far away to be able to stop anything. But knowing that, and also knowing that it didn't matter – they still felt that it was, in some way, their fault – wasn't the real question. 

The real question was, what had happened to Pixel? 

Pixel was very much interested in the answer to that question himself. He'd been sleeping peacefully, without even a dream to disturb him, and then he'd woken up to find a pair of red eyes peering down at him. He'd rolled out of bed as the creature had attempted to slice him in half, but it had been quick. Then there had been someone else, someone who seemed to control the creature – it had all happened so fast, he couldn't be entirely sure of that – and then…

_A Portal, he realized. The second person had arrived in a Portal, and had grabbed him and pulled him __through the Portal. _

"Where am I?" he said, his voice echoing slightly. All around him, all he saw was darkness. Nothing but darkness, for miles in all directions. The only reason he knew he was standing on solid ground was that he could feel it beneath his feet. If for any reason he had been suspended in air by a rope, there would've been no way for him to identify the floor. "Where am I?" he called again. 

Suddenly, lights flickered on along the edges of what he could now see (thanks to the dim firelight) were walls. This provided just a tad bit of sight, and Pixel fought not to sigh in relief. He didn't want to do anything that might make those lights go out again. 

_SO. HE'S AWAKENED. _

"Yah!" Pixel yelped, looking around wildly. The voice had come out of exactly nowhere, and yet seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. "Who's there?" 

_THIS IS THE GREAT WIZARD OF SIGHT?_

Pixel gulped. "Uh…not really."

_ARE YOU NOT THE ONE NAMED SHALAR DOMAIN, OF CALOMIR?_

"Yes." 

_YOU SEE? I TOLD YOU HE WAS THE WIZARD OF SIGHT._

There were two voices, he could see – or rather, hear – that now. They sounded exactly alike, neither male nor female, and carried the same all-powerful, all-echoing, all-headache-inducing tone and volume. It was only the last words that had clued him into that – whoever, or whatever, these voices belonged to, they were arguing over him. 

"Excuse me," Pixel said, taking a deep breath, "but what is going on here? Where am I? Why'd you kidnap me? And what in the world is going on here?"

_NOT QUITE IN THE WORLD, IF YOU WANT TO BE SPECIFIC. WELCOME TO THE INTER-REALM, SHALAR. WE ARE THE OMNIPOTENT. _

"The…what?" Pixel shook his head. "What's the Inter-Realm? And who are the Omnipotent?"

_THIS IS THE INTER-REALM. WE ARE THE OMNIPOTENT. YOU'RE NOT BEING CLEAR. HE DOESN'T KNOW WHERE 'THIS' IS AND WHO 'WE' ARE. HE'S THE WIZARD OF SIGHT – HE SHOULD KNOW THESE THINGS. NOT NECESSARILLY. _

Now Pixel was really beginning to get a headache. He couldn't tell one voice from the other, and it was beginning to sound like these 'Ominipotent' or whatever were having a conversation with itself…or themselves…or whatever… Pixel shook his head. "Stop calling me the Wizard of Sight!" he snapped. "I'm not!" 

_ISN'T THAT WHAT THE PEOPLE OF THE DIADEM CALL YOU?_

"Occasionally. But it doesn't mean anything."

_IT MEANS EVERYTHING, CALOMIRIAN. WE OF THE INTER-REALM HAVE BEEN AWAITING YOUR COMING. _

This stopped Pixel. "You have? Why? What for? Why me? And why can't I just go home? And why, why, _why don't you sound different from each other?!" _

The voice(s) paused. Pixel clenched his fists and drew in a couple of deep, shuddering breaths. He was tense, waiting to see what would happen next. Being without his gemstones made him feel vulnerable. What he wouldn't give for those gems now. Or even his quarterstaff. He hadn't spent the last three years having Helaine teach him how to use that thing for nothing. 

But he had nothing. 

Then the room seemed to brighten, just slightly. At the same time, a breeze kicked up. From where, Pixel couldn't tell. As far as he could see, there was no window or door in this entire hall. Just the endless stone walls and ceiling above and around him. 

The breeze grew stronger, until it was whipping around him like a hurricane, yet not really touching him. And then it was as if someone had opened a vacuum in the room, and was sucking all the air out, only Pixel could still breathe. The suction seemed to be coming from one spot, several feet away from him. 

There was a flash of light, and the suction stopped. Pixel's eyes widened as he took in the person who had just appeared before him. 

He stood at eight feet in height. Long blond hair trailed down his back, but turned darker towards the ends, so it was hard to tell just how long it really was. The man's skin was ghost white, and seemed to flicker with some inner fire. Ebony eyes looked at him, and the all-black ensemble the man wore reminded Pixel of something…but he couldn't quite place it. He was too much in shock and awe to say anything. 

"_We are the Omnipotent," replied the Omnipotent. "__We are the ones who live within the Inter-Realm. The Realm between the worlds, so to speak. Magic-users cross this plane with each Portal, but always too fast, too quick to see anything. _

_"You were taken out of your world via Portal, but we intercepted you and kept you here while your abductor continued on. You will see him again. He will be looking for you, but he knows nothing of the Inter-Realm." _

"So, you saved me?" Pixel asked, confused. "Are you going to let me go home?" 

"_No," replied the Omnipotent. "__We do not have that power. Once a mortal has been trapped in the Inter-Realm, there is only one way for them to return to Real Time."_

"Then why did you keep me here?" Pixel demanded. "Why?" 

"_We could not let him have you. You are too important to the Diadem, and he would've used you for evil. You have two choices – stay here in the Inter-Realm and use your power to protect the Diadem as a messenger, or take the much more dangerous and less successful route to Dondar." _

Even though it was obvious that the Omnipotent was trying to get him to stay there, obviously he couldn't force him. "How do I get home?" Pixel asked stubbornly. 

The Omnipotent smiled sadly, as if had known that Pixel would turn it down. "_You must travel through the Void." _

Although the name meant nothing, Pixel suddenly had a flash of fear run through him. "What's the Void, and where is it?" he asked, steeling himself. 

"_Follow us." _


	3. Vanished!

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter 3: Vanished!**

"You say Pixel's gone?"

Helaine and Score were sitting in the main room of Shanara's castle on Rawn, both of them looking tired and worn-out. They'd spent the better part of the past five hours combing Dondar for signs of Pixel, using their powers to their maximum extent to try and sense him, somewhere. 

They'd had no luck. 

Now they were on Rawn, looking ready to drop. Shanara looked at her young friends and bit her lip, concerned. They were tired, and worried, and neither were good if they were going to have to go up against some evil entity to get Pixel back. If there was a Pixel to get back. 

"That's right," Score said, nodding. He looked down at the cup of liquid in his hand, and sipped slowly. He didn't know what it was, but he was too preoccupied to change it to something more familiar. "Five hours ago. We've been searching for him ever since." 

Shanara felt as worried as the two magic-users before her looked. "So you want me to scry, and see if I can locate him on another world?" she asked.

"Could you?" Helaine asked. "I'm not good enough at that – Pixel was better. But you're an expert. Besides, the two of us aren't up to par right now." 

"Ask no more," replied Shanara, flashing them a smile. She turned towards her scrying pool, tossing her bright pink hair over her shoulder in the process. She reached out and swatted a sleeping red panda on the head. "Wake up, you idiot. We've got work to do."

Blink, the red panda and Shanara's familiar, raised his head and glared at her. "Why'd you go and wake me up? I was having a lovely dream. There was food, and more food, and I didn't have to do any work…"

"Pixel's missing," snapped Shanara. "Get off your lazy ass and help me. We have to try and find him." 

With those words, Shanara didn't even need to threaten Blink to get him to move. He had grown just as fond of the Chosen Three as Shanara, and most of the people who's lives they touched, had. He leapt into Shanara's arms, and both of them fixed their gazes on the scrying pool.

Score drained the cup, and set it on the table next to the couch he and Helaine were both sitting on. "I hope they find something," he said softly, glancing over at Helaine. Then he did a double-take, and his eyes widened slightly. "Hey, Helaine – you're not crying, are you?"

Helaine reached up and wiped away the tears that were beginning to trickle from her eyes. "No," she said thickly, in a way that clearing meant otherwise. "I'm just…well, the three of us have hardly ever been separated for any great length of time in the last four years." 

"He's only been gone for a few hours," Score said, even though he knew that those few hours had felt like a few years. 

"But all those other times we've been split up," Helaine continued, "we've always known where we each were. This time…we don't have a clue. We don't know if he's safe, or upset, or injured, or…or…" Her throat tightened. Score and Pixel were her family, and she couldn't lose either of them.

Score moved closer and wrapped his arms around her. "Shh," he said, stroking her hair gently. "It's okay. It's going to be okay. We've been in more dangerous situations than this before. We'll find Pixel, and then everything will be fine. It'll be fine." 

Helaine clung to him, and pressed her face against his chest. "I'm scared," she whispered. "I shouldn't be, but I am. We can't lose him, Score. We just can't." 

"I know," Score said. "I know." 

Shanara walked over to them then, and cleared her throat. Helaine immediately pulled away from Score, and wiped at her eyes, making out like she had something caught in it. "Well?" she asked brusquely. 

The Wizard of Shapes wasn't fooled – she'd heard Helaine's emotional breakdown. But if the younger girl wanted to make like she wasn't upset or scared, fine. It might help with what she had to tell her. 

"I don't know where Pixel is," Shanara said bluntly, not sugar-coating it at all. "He's nowhere in the entire Diadem." 

"Then someone is blocking your magic?" Score inquired. 

"If someone were, I'd sense it," Shanara replied. "There's nothing. Pixel, according to my power, and my power never lies, is not alive anywhere on this plane."

Helaine covered her mouth and choked back a sob before she could stop herself. Score reached over and clutched her hand, almost unconsciously.

"Relax," Shanara said. "That doesn't necessarily mean anything. If he were dead, there'd still be some residual traces of his magic. He went through a Portal on Dondar, but never came out of it. Which could mean only one thing."

"What?" Score asked. 

"He's in the Inter-Realm," Shanara replied grimly. "In which case, he may very well be lost to us. But it's not a sure thing yet."

"What's the Inter-Realm?" Helaine asked. 

"An entirely different plane of existence," a new voice said. "No mortal can go there and return to this plane the way they were, unless they are very powerful and _very lucky." _

As one, Score, Helaine, and Shanara turned to look at Oracle. 


	4. Oracle's Origins

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter 4: Oracle's Origin**

Shanara, Helaine, and Score stared at Oracle. "You know about this Inter-Realm place?" Helaine asked. 

Oracle nodded, his face drawn and grim. "I should. It's where I'm from."

The three magic-users stared at him in shock and surprise. "What?" Score whispered hoarsely. "Where you're…from?"

"Yes." Oracle sighed and massaged his temples, as if he had a great headahce. "You already know that I don't truly exist on this plane, right? That's because my physical body is trapped in the Inter-Realm. 

"You see, several centuries ago, before the Triad came to the Diadem, I lived on a planet called Orisai." Shanara's eyes widened, but he held up his hand to keep her quiet. "I wasn't human, so I couldn't manipulate magic, but I could travel through Portals because I was _of magic – sort of like the unicorns."_

"You look human to me," Score said dryly.

"I'm not," Oracle replied. "In any case, I traveled through the Portal one day, but never made it to my destination. Instead, I found myself trapped in the realm that one travels through to get _to their destinations – that was the Inter-Realm._

"There is no easy way out of the Inter-Realm, and I lacked the courage to try to leave. So when the ones who ruled the Inter-Realm, called the Omnipotent (and they're a strangeness unto themselves), asked me to choose, I chose the second option. Stay in the Inter-Realm, and become a guardian.

"I was placed in a crystal, where I stayed in sleep until I was called on. I'm not sure how much time went by – I imagine it was years on the Diadem, but time had no true meaning there – but soon I felt the pulling of the Oracle spell that Eremin cast. She drew my spirit to this plane, and I became Oracle." He sighed and closed his eyes. "And you know the rest." 

"So Pixel was pulled out of this plane to the Inter-Realm by these Omnipotent?" Helaine asked uncertainly.

"No," Oracle said, shaking his head emphatically, "and that is the strangeness of this. The Omnipotent _never choose people to come to the Inter-Realm – they merely wait for someone to become trapped. My guess is that whoever took Pixel through the Portal had nothing to do with the Omnipotent, but somehow, Pixel was trapped in the Inter-Realm. I imagine his kidnapper is beside himself at this latest development."_

"So…there's no way to get Pixel?" Shanara asked, getting to the heart of the situation. "You said that there is no easy way out."

"There's no _easy way out," Oracle said, "but there is a way out. _

"It's called the Void." 

The mere name sent chills down the three's spines. "_That was ominous," muttered Score. "So what's the Void?"_

"The Void is exactly what it sounds like," Oracle replied, "a void. There is a gateway in the Inter-Realm that leads to it, and _nothing else. If you walk around to the other side of the gateway, without actually entering, all you will see is a giant stone slab. It's almost as if the entrance is a Portal itself – a Portal to a land of terror. Many have tried to enter – most return to the Inter-Realm too frightened to go on." _

"But Pixel is one of the Chosen Three," Blink piped up from his place in Shanara's arms. "He'll be fine."

"Magic is forbidden in the Void," Oracle said gravely.

"What?!" Score shot to his feet, completely ignoring how tired he was. "Oracle, just how dangerous _is this place?" _

"Remember Zarathan?" Oracle asked.

Helaine paled. "Yes."

"Imagine a thousand Zarathans," he said, "and then triple that danger. _That, my friends, is how dangerous the Void is. And that's just what I've heard from those who returned to the Inter-Realm from there. Those who haven't – well, we'll never know what it was they faced." _

"Then Pixel…" Score looked at Helaine. She bit her lip and couldn't hide the fear on her face. 

"If Pixel is truly as smart as we give him credit to be," Oracle said softly, "he will stay far away from the Void." 


	5. A Glimpse At Evil

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter Five: A Glimpse At Evil**

_How could this have happened?!_

_My plan was going perfectly. So perfectly. Every little detail – the where, the when, the why, the how, the who…all thought out in perfect precision. How could that brat have possibly managed to escape me?_

_I thought I had him. I thought that once he was in the Portal, he was mine._

_Mine!_

_Damn you, Nantor! _

_Traxis!_

_Eremin!_

_You three caused me so much pain…so much suffering!__ I want to make sure that your pain and suffering are just as great as mine were! _

_Since I became aware of the Triad's defeat by Sarman, I thought I was at peace. But then, four years ago…_

_Four hundred years…_

_DAMN YOU, TRIAD! _

_My mother! _

_My father!_

_My family! _

_YOU KILLED THEM!_

_Those self-absorbed, mock-righteous bastards. They came from nowhere, flaunting their talents at those of us who were less fortunate. They took my sisters from me, killed my mother, absorbed my father, tricked my people! _

_And then. They. Laughed. _

_Laughed. _

_They thought it was funny__. _

_Funny! _

_My family was dead, my life was dead, and they thought it was FUNNY! _

_Sarman beat me to my revenge. _

_…_

_…_

_…Ah, but you had the last laugh, didn't you, Nantor? I know it was your idea, creating those new bodies for the three of you. You hate one another, yet can't be without each other, is that it? Is that why you told Traxis and Eremin about your plan? _

_Yes. _

_That's why._

_You were afraid…afraid to be without your power. _

_I must say, though, that I am surprised by the way you've been acting these last four years. Giving up the power of Jewel, protecting the worlds of the Diadem, actually getting along with one another. _

_What are you planning, Nantor? Traxis? Eremin? _

_What are you planning? _

_…Not that it matters. In the end, you will die. I'll make certain of that. _


	6. Step Into the Void

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter Six: Step Into the Void**

"So," Pixel said softly, "this is the entrance to the Void."

The Omnipotent had explained everything – how the only way out of the Inter-Realm was via the Void, how magic was forbidden in the Void, how most who went into the Void either returned and never went in, or never returned at all. Not of that endeared Pixel to the dark entryway before him, but he was determined not to let it get him down. 

He was going to walk through that entryway, and he was going to get home to Dondar. 

"_We beg you to reconsider, Wizard of Sight," the Omnipotent said from behind him. _

"Yeah?" Pixel asked. "Well, beg all you want. I'm still going." 

"_You would be a welcome addition to our guides." _

"I'm sure. But no. I have to get home." 

The Omnipotent sighed dejectedly. "_We cannot persuade you?"_

"No, not in this lifetime. Probably not in any other lifetime, either." 

"_Very well." The Omnipotent stepped up to the Void and touched the darkness. His/It's/Their hand pressed against it, almost as if the darkness were solid. The entryway glowed slightly, and the Omnipotent stepped back. "__A guide will arrive for you shortly. Do not attempt to enter the Void until the guide arrives, or you will be lost forever. Wait here until that time."_

"How long?" Pixel asked. 

"_We cannot know this," replied the Omnipotent. "__It will be as long as it will be. You will not see us again, Wizard of Sight. Good luck." The Omnipotent bowed to Pixel, and then vanished. Pixel got to unnerving feeling of being alone again, but took a deep breath and steeled himself against it. He sat down on a cushioned bench opposite the Void, and stared at the entryway._

"So I just…wait?" he muttered. "Great. Just great. Why didn't they tell me about that before? They never mentioned any guide." 

Pixel had been by himself plenty of times before, but never in such a silent, foreboding place. Without the Omnipotent there physically, he felt as if he were a mouse lost in a giant maze. Remembering the labyrinth back on Zarathan, he shuddered and forced the simile out of his mind. 

_I wonder how Score and Helaine are doing, he thought. He had no way of knowing exactly how much time had passed since he'd gotten stuck in this place – time wasn't relative here. What felt like hours could be only minutes, was felt like minutes could be days, what felt like days could be seconds. _

Very unnerving. 

"This is getting extremely boring," he muttered, tapping his fingers impatiently against the edge of the bench. "Is it _really necessary for me to wait for this guide? I'm a magic-user, after all – I think I could handle it." He stood up and walked over to the entryway, pausing before it. "It really doesn't look that dangerous." _

The Void seemed to be calling to him, a soft sound that could be heard only this close to the entrance. Almost like someone was singing to him. Pixel reached out  a hand to the Void, wondering what was taking the guide so long.

Guide? What guide? 

He needed no guide…the Void would welcome him, protect him, cherish his arrival. It wasn't a bad place…

But the Omnipotent…

What was the Omnipotent?

There was only the Void.

Only the Void.

Only the…

"WHOA!" The surprised shout came suddenly as a huge white gateway seemed to open up above him. Something – or, more likely, someone – fell through the gateway directly on top of Pixel. Both of them crashed to the ground, and the Void's hypnotic lock on Pixel's mind immediately vanished. 

The two struggled to untangle themselves, Pixel trying to not make too much noise, the new arrival having no qualms about it whatsoever. The only thing Pixel was able to detect was that whoever it was, it was a girl. And she was most definitely not in a good mood. 

The girl finally untangled herself, and stood up, looking up at the ceiling where the gateway had been. "Fine!" she shouted. "Just dump me anywhere! Be that way! I don't care!" She shook her head, her black hair flying around her face. "It's so infuriating, the way they just order people around!" 

Pixel picked himself off the floor and looked at the girl. "Are you…my guide?"

"Yeah," the girl said, brushing her hair out of her face and turning to look at him. "So, what's your…" Her voice trailed off as her almond-shaped eyes widened in shock. "Oh, I don't _believe this! I just don't __believe this!" _

Pixel was in equal shock, and slight fear. "Destiny?" he squeaked. 

Destiny blinked. "Did you just…squeak?" She sighed and pressed her hands against her forehead. "Great. Just great. No wonder they didn't tell me that I was playing guide to one of the three people who probably wanted nothing more than to kill me themselves. Oh, wait, I forgot – you _don't kill anyone. The new Triad philosophy. You only kill those you have no choice against, and you let others kill __for you with the rest." _

Pixel narrowed his eyes. "Actually, we tried to talk some sense into you. _You were the one determined to kill us and take our power for yourself. It's not our fault you fell to your death!" He paused. "Speaking of which…you should be dead." _

"Well, duh," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Why do you think I'm here?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't ask," he said. "I can figure things out from a little information, not _no information." _

"The Omnipotent didn't explain it to you?" she asked. "Figures. Okay, then, listen carefully, Pixel. I'm only going to say it once – the Void is a place of demons and darkness. It's like Zarathan, only the things there don't come from dreams and nightmares, and it's a lot, lot worse. The only things that can travel through there that _won't have signs on them that say 'Eat Me, I'm Yours' are the ones who either live there full time, or those who don't live anywhere. I'm one of the latter. The dead are welcome in the Void, so long as they don't bug the residents. That's why a spirit is always sent to guide the living. I'm surprised you actually waited here as long as you did – most go in before their guides get here."_

He blushed. "I almost did." 

"The Void nearly got ya, huh?" She rolled her eyes. "It's always looking for fresh meat. Well, come on, then. The sooner we get you back to the living world, the sooner I can go back to my sleep." 

"And I should trust you…why?" Pixel frowned at her. 

She glared right back. "Look, I have no reason to kill you now. I'm powerless. I'm dead, for crying out loud. I only have material shape here and in the Void, where you're equally powerless. It's either you trust me, or you stay here and never see your friends again. And I _know that would just kill you." _

"And wouldn't you like that," Pixel said sarcastically. 

"No, actually," Destiny said, "I wouldn't. I'm in no hurry for you to join me for all eternity. We'd probably end up wanting to kill each other ourselves, which would suck, because we wouldn't be able to. So get off your proverbial high horse, mutter whatever curses you have about this whole situation – which I would definitely agree with – and follow me into this hellish dimension that will, providing we survive, lead you home and allow me to go back to my peaceful rest."

Pixel narrowed his eyes. "No tricks?" 

"No tricks," Destiny replied. "Swear." She held out her hand. "Momentary truce until I can get you out of my hair. That's about all I want right now." 

He looked at the black entrance to the Void, then back at Destiny. "Okay, then," he said slowly, "let's go."

Destiny looked at him, as if trying to evaluate how serious he was. Apparently finding that he was being extremely serious, she nodded. "Follow me." Taking a deep breath, she marched up to the Void entrance and pressed the palm of her hand against the inky surface. She closed her eyes and muttered a couple of words. From her hand, small tendrils of white light began to overtake the black, multiplying and growing more numerous with each passing second until the entire entrance was now white. 

Destiny held out her hand, and Pixel took it. "Relax," she said, noting how tense he seemed. "Stick with me and you'll be okay. I promise." She stepped towards the entrance, and Pixel watched as she disappeared. A second later, he followed her through. 

It was like pushing his way through a very thin sheet of plastic. There was almost no resistance, yet at the same time, he could feel the changes that indicated that they were passing out of the Inter-Realm and into the Void. The eerie feeling of loneliness that was found throughout the Inter-Realm disappeared, only to be replaced with an equally eerie feeling of being watched. It was like someone was waiting for him, on the other side. It was almost enough to make him turn around and go back the way he came. 

But he had to get back to Score and Helaine, and this was the only way to do it. 

_That's right, Pixel – make sure you keep telling yourself that. It might be the only way to keep you sane. _

And then they were through.

"My God," Pixel breathed, blue eyes wide as he took in the horrific landscape around him.

Everything looked dead. Crumbling structures, dead grass, trees, bushes, dry holes that must have been wells once, judging from the muddy water pooling shallowly at the bottoms of them. A skeleton of some sort of animal lay only a few feet away, empty eye sockets staring up with a dead grin from the jaws. There was no sun, only a small greenish glow from a light source he could not identify. Before them, a path stretched out into a dark, twisted-looking forest. 

"You're kidding me," Pixel whispered. "We have to go through _that? With no magic?"_

"That's right," Destiny said, trying to sound cheerful. Pixel glanced at her, however, and saw that she was practically shaking. This place was just as terrifying to her as it was to him, and supposedly _she wasn't in any danger! She tightened her grip on his hand. "We better get moving. The sooner we get through, the better."_

"Right." Both of them taking deep breaths, they began to move cautiously – very, very cautiously – towards the forest. "So how many times have you been here?" Pixel asked. 

"Three or four," Destiny replied. 

"So you know the area well?"

She bit her lip. "Well, only up to the cemetery."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Why only to there?"

"Because that's about as far as I got before the person I was with decided he'd much rather stay in the Inter-Realm," she replied. "Beyond that, I only know a few rumors. Few guides have ever returned from the end of the Void."

"Why?" Pixel couldn't help asking.

Destiny shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe they're finally allowed to cross over and sleep. All I know is, I want to reach the end, and you're probably my best ticket to doing that, being one of the Triad."

Pixel sighed. "You know, the three of us really aren't the Triad. They created us, but we're not them. We're ourselves."

"You really expect me to believe that?" she asked. 

"Yes," he said simply. "It's the truth."

Destiny rolled her eyes. "That's just like something Nantor would say to try and deceive someone. Maybe you aren't them…yet. But you probably will be."

He shook his head emphatically. "We've spent the last four years doing our best to _not become them! Being the Triad is the last thing Score, Helaine, and I want."_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Destiny muttered. "You don't want power, you don't want to rule a planet, you don't want this and you don't want that. You've given me that whole list before, and I still believe you as much as I did then: which is not at all. Now, I'm really not interested in making small talk, so unless you having something _important to ask me, shut up and walk." _

Pixel opened his mouth to say something more, then decided to keep quiet after all. The last thing he wanted was the piss off the person who was supposed to help him get out of this place alive. He decided to try a different tactic. "This place may look like Zarathan, but it doesn't seem as frightening."

"Most of the fear you felt on Zarathan was transmitted straight from the planet," Destiny replied. "That's not how the Void works. The Void itself isn't alive – just the inhabitants. Now _be quiet. The forest is the Forest of Silence, and it's one of the first tests in the Void."_

"Tests?"

She sighed. "So, the Omnipotent forgot to mention _those as well. I'll explain after we get through the Forest. Just __don't open your mouth, got it? The test is silence."_

"Got it," Pixel said. "But you promise you'll explain everything?"

She nodded. 

Silently, the two of them approached the forest and entered it. 

Back on Dondar, Helaine and Score were exhausted. They'd barely gotten any sleep since Pixel had disappeared, but now that they had some idea as to where he was, they were leaving it up to Shanara to track him down. Both of them wanted to know more about this Void place that Oracle was talking about, but Shanara had been adamant about them getting some sleep. 

Score laid out the blankets on the futon that lay at the end of the Helaine's bed and sat down. "You don't mind me staying in here?" he asked.

"No," she said, tying back her hair with a ribbon. "Actually, I'm glad you are. I don't really think the two of us should be separated right now. We can't let ourselves be split up anymore than we already are."

Score nodded and stifled a yawn. "I hope Pixel's fine. Do you think he's in that Void by now?"

"Probably," Helaine said. "We'll know more once Oracle gets back." She pulled back her sheets and climbed into her bed. "Maybe I should contact Shanara once before going to sleep."

Score laid down on the futon and shook his head. "Leave her be," he said. "She's probably as exhausted as we are – more so, because she's been scrying all day. She'll contact us once she gets something."

Helaine sighed. "I know. I just don't like not doing anything." 

"You mean, you don't like relying on other people to do something that you want to do yourself," Score said, grinning. "I know you, Helaine. You're the most independent person I've ever met, and while normally I admire that, sometimes it can get you into trouble." 

She snorted softly. "Quit teasing me, Score."

He sat up and perched his elbows on the end of her bed, resting his chin on his hands. "Who's teasing?" he asked seriously. "I'm telling the truth, Helaine. That was a compliment."

She looked at him skeptically. 

"What?" he demanded. "I'm not allowed to pay my friends compliments?"

"You've never seriously paid me any compliments before," Helaine said. "Why start now?" 

Score rolled his eyes. "Jeez. Make a few jokes at your expense and you stop trusting everything I say. I've paid you plenty of compliments – are you telling me you've never believed a single one of them?"

"Name one that you were being serious about," Helaine demanded. 

Score bit his lip and thought. "Remember last winter, when Shanara was having that holiday party at her castle? Remember what I said to you when you came out of your room before we went?"

"You said that I looked good in the dress I was wearing," Helaine replied. She blinked. "You were serious?"

"Of course I was serious!" Score exclaimed. "Come on, it's not often that you wear dresses, Helaine. I happened to think that you wore that one pretty well."

"But I thought – but you – I never –" Her face turned bright red. "But I never wear dresses!"

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Oh, I get it. Because you never wear dresses, you thought I was making fun of you for wearing one." He rolled his eyes. "That explains why you avoided me for the rest of the night." 

"I can't believe we're having this conversation," growled Helaine, laying back down and pulling the blankets over her head. "Pixel's risking his life and we're talking about whether or not you've seriously complimented me." 

"What else can we do?" Score asked. "I doubt Pixel would expect us to worry constantly. If we do that, we'll end up going insane. Frankly, I don't really want that. Do you?"

Helaine shook her head, and Score had to stifle a laugh. She still had the blankets pulled up over her head, and the effect of the blankets moving back and forth with her was amusing. "Okay, then." He laid back down on his futon and snapped his fingers. All the lights went out in the room. "I'm tired, and I'm going to get some sleep. Good night, Helaine."

"Good night, Score," Helaine said. "And promise me something."

"What?"

"If you're awakened by the sound of a Portal opening up, wake me up. Don't try to be a hero."

Score grinned. "Being a hero is the last thing I'd do." 

Helaine rolled onto her side and pulled the blankets off her head, then wrapped them tightly around her. Unlike Score, she wasn't quite tired enough to fall asleep, so instead she lay awake for a few minutes and just listened to Score's deep breathing. She envied him a bit – he was the type of person who could tell himself to fall asleep, and he'd do it. And if he told himself what time to wake up before he fell asleep, he'd wake up precisely at that time. Usually Helaine ended up staring at the ceiling before sleeping. 

As she stared up at the ceiling that night, she couldn't help but wonder why this had happened. Who could have had enough power to get into the castle through a Portal, take Pixel through and overpowering him in the process, but not have enough power to make sure that he didn't get pulled into the Inter Realm? Especially considering that…

"Score!" Helaine bolted upright, grabbed on of her pillows, and smacked Score over the head with it. "Wake up!"

"I wasn't asleep," muttered Score. "What?"

"How did Pixel's would-be kidnapper get into the castle in the first place?" Helaine demanded. "There're seals up all around this place, keeping all magic out except our own."

Score sat up and looked at her. "You're right," he said. "How _did someone get through our barriers?"_

"Get dressed," Helaine said, jumping out of bed and pulling her armor out of her closet. "I don't care if Shanara is exhausted – we need her help on this." 


	7. A Case of Mistaken Identity?

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter Seven: A Case of Mistaken Identity?**

Pixel let out a huge sigh of relief once they'd passed through the forest. Beside him, Destiny immediately released the death grip she'd had on his hand, and took a giant step away from him. "I've never been more tense in my life," he breathed, bending over to try and clear his mind.

The forest hadn't been anything extraordinary – just your typical clusters of trees and bushes, and a well-walked dirt path that ran through the center. Following the path, there had been no real need to be afraid of being, say, lost or anything. That wasn't what had scared Pixel.

The fact that the forest had been utterly, completely silent – _that was what had scared him. It was so unnatural for something to be that quiet, and now that he was surrounded by sounds again, he felt like nothing else could go wrong. _

"Well," Destiny said, "that went well." He glanced at her to see if she was joking, but she had a look of relief on her face that told him she was serious.

"Okay," he said, turning to her. "You're going to explain to me what this whole 'trial' business is…and you're going to explain it now. Before we go any further." 

She tossed her long black hair over her shoulder and sighed. "Man, you've got a one-track mind. And you're impatient, too. That's one thing that hasn't changed about you – always wanting more and more information. You're obsessed with information."

"Your point being…?" Pixel looked at her pointedly. "Get on with it."

"Fine." She walked over to a large rock near the path and sat down. Pixel positioned himself in front of her, and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't as muscular as Score, and didn't have the other boy's strength, but he could definitely be intimidating when he wanted to be. 

"Aside from the fact that the residents of the Void hate the living and would do anything to kill them, the Void itself is always looking for new inhabitants. Usually it just tries to pull some unsuspecting mortal into it without a guide – but you figured that one out, right?" Pixel nodded, recalling his near-mistake right before Destiny had fallen on top of him. "The Void doesn't give up once the mortal is inside with a guide, either. All along the way to the other end of the Void are trials designed to trap an unsuspecting mortal. And the hard part is, the Void doesn't give any clear indication as to what the trials are." 

"Then how did you know about the last one?" Pixel asked. "How did you know you had to be silent?"

"I've been here before," she replied. "Quite a few times, but I've never made it to the end. I think I told you that. The Trial of Silence is pretty easy, and so are the first few after it. They get progressively harder after that. And if we reach a trial that I'm not familiar with, then we're going to have to be incredibly careful. The main trials are pretty easy to spot, even if you don't know what they are. They stay in one place."

"The main trials?" repeated Pixel. "There are others?"

"The Void likes to send specialized trials to people, to test their individuality," Destiny replied. "I lost a couple of mortals to those. Rule number one when trying to protect yourself from the specialized trials is to not trust anyone but your guide. Rule number two is that your guide is only going to trust you, so don't betray that trust."

"So you're saying that we have to trust each other," Pixel said slowly. "That might be a little hard for me to do."

Destiny shrugged. "You don't really have a choice if you want to get out of here alive." She stood up and stretched. "Well, now that Trial #1 is past, let's get going. We have about a day before Trial #2, and fortunately, there's a town nearby that we can rest in. Well, sort of rest." 

"Sort of rest?" Pixel fell into step beside her. 

"You can't let your guard down in these towns," she replied. "You never know when one of the civilians will stick a knife in your back when you do." 

Pixel swallowed hard. "It's really that dangerous?"

"This one isn't too bad, and they know me, but yeah. Most of them are that dangerous." Destiny clenched her fists tightly. "And some of them are worse." 

"I'm sensing underlying hostility," Pixel said lightly. "Something happen you don't want to talk about?"

"Damn straight," she replied. "And don't you start playing junior psychologist and trying to figure it out. It's really none of your concern." 

"I bet," muttered Pixel. 

Shanara was half-asleep when Score and Helaine came barging into her castle. She was so exhausted that _Blink was actually more awake than she was, and this was saying something. _

"What are you two doing here?" she half-asked, half-yawned. "I thought you weren't coming back until morning." 

"Never mind that," Helaine said, slipping into one of the chairs around the huge table that was covered with various books and scrolls. "What level of magic would a person have to have to get by the barriers of another magic-user?"

"It would depend," Shanara said. 

"On what?" asked Score. 

"The level of that person's magic, the level of the other person's magic, the circumstances behind the barrier magic, the type of magic, the conditions of the time and place, the method of getting around the barrier…I'm afraid that if you want me to answer that question specifically, you'll have to ask it specifically." 

"What level of magic would Pixel's kidnapper have to have to create a Portal inside our castle, which is surrounded by high-level barriers created by Helaine?" Score elaborated. 

"A damn high level of magic," Shanara said instantly.

"You're positive?" Helaine asked. 

"The two of you and Pixel are three of the most powerful magic-users in the Diadem. You're certainly better than I am, and if you'd stayed on Jewel and not left part of your power behind, you'd be _the most powerful magic-users. Your power is the Triad's power originally, but I suspect that you might have surpassed even their level at this point. For someone to break through barriers created by Helaine, with Score's power amplifying them and Pixel's knowledge of where to place them – I wouldn't want to meet that person in a dark alley." Shanara looked pained. "Obviously, we're not dealing with an ordinary magic-user here."_

"Do you know anyone with that sort of power?" Helaine asked anxiously. 

"Not offhand…" Her voice trailed off, and she looked thoughtful. "Blink! Wake up, you lazy panda!" 

Blink cracked open one eye. "I am awake," he said. "And no, I don't know anyone, either." 

Score tapped his fingers on the tabletop. "Could it be someone from our past?" he asked. "We know from experience that sometimes dead magic-users don't always know when to stay dead. And we've certainly defeated some nasty ones over the last four years."

"The only ones who would come close to this level of magic would be Sarman and the Triad," replied Shanara. "And Destiny, of course."

Helaine looked at Shanara with interest. "Why do you say, of course?"

"Destiny's magic was a specialty type, like yours and mine," Shanara replied. "She had it perfected to such a degree that could probably only be rivaled by the Triad. It's no wonder that Sarman sought her out to betray her masters."

"A specialty type?" Score asked, sitting up straight. 

"Like Shanara's illusion magic, your transformation abilities, by danger-sensing power, and Pixel's uncanny intelligence," explained Helaine. She turned back to Shanara. "I didn't know Destiny had anything like that. She didn't show it before." 

"Actually, she did," Shanara said. "After Zarathan, I did a little reading up on that little psychopath. Destiny's specialty was her ability to warp someone's mind – she could make them believe things that weren't true, and make them think that they'd always believed that. She did it on that man who was supposedly her father, and she did a little of it on you three to get you to trust her. Her manipulations can get incredibly dangerous if you get her mad enough."

"How were you able to discover so much?" Score asked. "I didn't think the Triad would publicly announce the powers of their servants. And why didn't you tell us any of this before now?"

"Because Destiny is dead," Shanara said matter-of-factly. "As for how I obtained this information, it wasn't that hard. Specialty powers are passed on through bloodlines, and you'd told me that Destiny had mentioned that her older sister had been destroyed by Zarathan. I pulled a little mind-reading trick that I learned when I was younger and was able to get the name of her sister, and behold, I was able to trace her. Destiny's sister, a sorceress named Fate, wasn't a servant for the Triad until very late in her life. She'd already made a name for herself by the time she'd gone into their service and all but disappeared. When I discovered that she had a specialty talent, it wasn't hard to trace her bloodline, and determine that the power was inherent in every magic-user in Destiny's family." 

"Cool," Score murmured. "So, if it's passed through blood, then any of our descendants will have our powers."

"Providing they're magic-users," pointed out Shanara. "Usually, there's only one magic-user per family generation. Which is what makes Destiny so unusual, and probably one of the reasons why she had a such a 'look out for number one' attitude. Instead of her being the only magic-user in her generation, her sister and brother were magic-users as well." 

"She had a brother?" Helaine exclaimed. "Was he a servant of the Triad, too?"

Shanara shook her head. "No. I don't know much about him, just that when he was around, he was obsessed with the Triad. My mother used to talk about him a lot – they'd met once or twice, and she couldn't stand him."

"Your mother?" Helaine and Score asked.

Shanara grinned. "You're forgetting that Destiny was in actuality a lot older than she looked. Her body may have been young, but her soul was old, thanks to the Triad's little rebirth experiment. I'm not quite sure how old her brother would be now…I'm not even sure of his name." 

"I see," Score muttered. "Well, at least we know that whoever we're looking for, he or she is pretty strong. Joy. I'm really looking forward to another showdown." 

"I'll keep looking for more information," Shanara said. "Blink can help." The red panda twitched slightly, pretending he didn't hear her (and pretending rather poorly, at that). "You two get back home – _now – and at least try to get some rest. If you absolutely feel like you can't, maybe you should check up on the barriers around the cancel and reinforce them. You never know." _

Score and Helaine nodded. "Thanks," Helaine added. "Keep us posted. We'll be back sometime tomorrow, most likely."

When they were gone, Blink stood and stretched. "You're getting a bad feeling about this, aren't you?" he asked.

Shanara nodded. "You know, I said that only a few magic-users would have to type of power to break through their barrier. One of the side-effects of Destiny's  type of power is the ability to convince actual _spells of adjusting themselves a different way. It has to be specially trained, but I know she did it when she changed to destination of that Portal…I wonder…"_

"You don't think she's alive still, do you?" Blink asked. 

"Oh, no," Shanara said, shaking her head. "I'm positive she's dead. But it makes me wonder about that brother of hers. I remember my mother saying that he hated the Triad with a passion – odd, considering both of his sisters worked for them. Logically speaking, he must have been overjoyed when they were destroyed – and furious to find out that they almost returned in the form of Score, Helaine, and Pixel." 

Blink's eyes widened. "You know, there are quite a few magic-users out there who don't believe that the new Triad are just the reincarnated bodies of the old, and not the souls as well," he said tentatively. 

"Very astute, Blink."

Shanara rolled her eyes. "Oracle, what do you want?" 

The black-clothed man – or sort-of man – grinned as he walked over to them. "To offer my services, of course," he said. "You know how fond I am of those three, and I'd hate to see any trouble come to them. I have a few sources that you wouldn't be able to reach. If you want, I can go pick their brains about Destiny's brother. 

"I also thought you'd be interested in hearing that Pixel has entered the Void." 

Shanara snapped her head around to stare at him. "You're serious?" she asked. "He did?"

"As predicted," Oracle reminded her. "We knew he wasn't just going to hang around the Inter-Realm forever, like I chose to do." Shanara thought she noticed a tinge of regret on Oracle's handsome, if translucent, features. Then it was gone, so quickly that she wasn't even sure she'd really seen it in the first place. 

"What are his chances of making it out alive?" asked Shanara. 

"It all depends on his guide," replied Oracle. "I wasn't able to find out who it is, so I don't know how well-versed in the Void the guide is. If it's this particular guide's first time through, Pixel could be in big trouble."

"Those spirits you were telling me about, the Omnipotent, they know Pixel's important, right? Surely they'd give him a guide that would have the best chance of getting him through." 

Oracle frowned. "It depends." 

_Too many things are depending on other things, thought Shanara. But she bit the bait anyway. "Depends on what?" she asked. _

"Whether or not he wounded the Omnipotent's pride by turning them down," Oracle answered. "They've been known to carry grudges. Although I don't think even they would be that cruel, I don't want to stake my reputation on it."

"And oh, what a reputation," Shanara quipped, rolling her eyes. "So what you're saying is we have no way of knowing _what Pixel's chances are of getting out of the Void."_

"Precisely!" Oracle said cheerfully. Shanara glared at him. "Okay, fine. No false cheerfulness." He sighed and leaned against the table. "I think we're going to have to face the possibility that at this point, we don't have the ability to help Pixel. There's more at stake than just him, though."

Shanara nodded. "Helaine and Score." 

"Or, most likely in the mind of our mysterious adversary, Eremin and Traxis," Oracle said.

"So you think that whoever it is is only after them because he or she thinks they're the original Triad?" Shanara asked. 

"I do," Oracle said, nodding. "These three have built up such a do-gooder reputation that it would _have to be one of those total nutcases. The normal power-hungry magic-users know that Score, Helaine, and Pixel are above their league, and everyone else loves them." _

"Told you," Blink said.

Shanara snapped her fingers, and projected the image of a very hungry tiger leaping at Blink. The overweight familiar screamed and took off around the room, the tiger projection chasing it. He rotated the room a few times before remembering the tiger was an illusion, and then he was so exhausted that he just curled up right where he was and went to sleep. 

"You handled that well," Oracle commented.

"Practice," Shanara replied. She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed. "What are the odds that we're going to solve this little mystery soon?" 

"Slim to none," Oracle replied. "Who knows how long it'll be before Pixel gets out of the Void, and then we have the kidnapper to deal with." He reached up and massaged his temples. "All of this mystery is giving me a headache."

"That's impossible, and you know it," Shanara said. She sighed. "Okay. Why don't you go talk to your contacts, and see what you can dig up. I've got some more books in my library that I can go through, and then I was thinking of hitting Aranak's deserted tower and seeing what he's got there. I haven't completely cleaned that place out yet." 

"I'll be back as soon as I have some information," Oracle promised just before he vanished into thin air.

Shanara sighed, then headed back to her library for the umpteenth time that evening. 

Helaine and Score were way too magically-exhausted try and pinpoint the exact drop-off point of their Portal, and ended up nearly landing on top of the unicorn herd. Fortunately, they managed to catch themselves in time, and after convincing an irate Thunder (who, thankfully, had already been awake and had not been woken up by them) that they were just passing through and that no trouble was on the way to the herd, made it back to the castle. 

"I'm too drained to check the barriers right away," Score complained as they walked up the stone-lined path to the main structure. "Thanks to you, I haven't gotten a single wink of sleep tonight."

"Thanks to _me?" Helaine fumed. "How was __I keeping you awake? You were just as eager to talk to Shanara as I was." _

"All those questions you were asking me earlier," Score said. "I could've been sleeping then." He covered his mouth with a yawn, then rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Let's put off the barriers until the morning, okay?"

"All right," Helaine agreed. 

Score stopped dead in his tracks. "Did you just _agree with me?" he asked, turning to look at her. "You did, didn't you?  You actually __agreed with me! You never just agree with me! Usually you end up getting into a huge argument, and even then, nine times out of ten you don't agree with me?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her straight in the way. "Who are you, and what have you done with Helaine?" _

Helaine rolled her eyes. "You certainly don't _seem tired to me, especially if you're making bad jokes this late at night." She glanced up at the lightening sky. "Or this early in the morning." _

"No, actually, I was being serious," replied Score. "Face it, Helaine, you don't agree with me. You and I are like yin and yang. Total opposites, never agreeing, never coming to the same conclusion, yet drawn together constantly." 

_Drawn together… Helaine suddenly felt her face turn hot. "What the hell do you mean, drawn together?" she demanded. "How in the world did you come up with something like that? You're right, you do need to get some sleep. You're way to weird when you're – mphf!" _

The sudden feeling of Score's mouth pressed against her caught her off guard, and she stiffened immediately. Then, slowly, she began to respond, bringing her hands up to hold his hands, which were still on her shoulders. 

Score pulled back slowly, and they just stood there, looking at each other. A slight pink tinge touched his cheeks, and Helaine hoped fervently that she wasn't blushing as well. 

Score cleared his throat in an attempt to get his composure back, and gave her one of his usual smirks. "You're cute when you're angry," he teased as he reached for the door. 

Helaine blinked, then growled softly. "You are _so full of yourself," she muttered as they stepped inside._

They both stopped in their tracks, and all traces of embarrassment suddenly flew out the window. "Dear Lord," Score whispered, looking at the completely ransacked room before them. "What the hell happened here?" 


	8. Fear

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter Eight: Fear**

Score stepped cautiously into the room and looked at the mess that filled it. "Someone was in here," he said, looking around.

Helaine came in behind him and shut the door tightly behind her. "Do you think they're still here?"

Score frowned and cocked his head slightly. "I'm not sure," he said. "I don't hear anything, but this is a big castle." He reached into his pocket and removed his jasper. He closed his eyes and concentrated. "If the intruder is still here, show the intruder to me." 

There was nothing.

"I think whoever it was is long gone," Score said, placing the jasper back into his pocket. 

Helaine was righting overturned chairs, and with Score's help, managed to get their two couches upright as well. "We'll deal with the clean-up in the morning," Helaine said. 

Score shook his head. "Let's do the barriers. Now." 

"Excuse me?" Helaine looked at him incredulously. "Just a few minutes ago you had me convinced to put them off because you were so tired."

"Somebody got into our home while we were gone," Score said, his eyes narrowed as he looked around at the ransacked rooms. "I'd like to find out why before they come back. We can check each room as we fix the barriers." 

Helaine sighed. "Okay, fine." She snapped her fingers, and a second later the Book of Magic floated into the room and into her hands. Normally she wouldn't have been so lazy, but this was an extenuating circumstance. She flipped through the pages to find the barrier spell that they had used to put up the barriers in the first place. 

Meanwhile, Score began picking up blankets and pillows and papers and anything else that had gotten thrown onto the floor. He used his emerald to turn broken glass into air, and to get rid of the dirt from some of the potted plants, but most of it he did physically. 

He picked up one particular paper, and frowned. The handwriting on it as unfamiliar, and he couldn't entirely place where he had seen it before. "Helaine?" he asked, coming over to stand by her. "Do you know what this is?"

Helaine took the strange paper from him. "No," she said. "It looks like it's written in some sort of code, but it's not one I'm familiar with. Pixel would probably be able to identify it, though."

"And he's not here," Score sighed. He folded up the sheet and stuck it in his back pocket. "I'll show it to Oracle next time he pops up. Are you ready with the barrier spell yet?"

"I found it, but I need a few things," she said. "They're in my room."

"I'll go get them," Score said as he read the page over her shoulder. He touched her hand slightly, then took it and squeezed it. "You stay here. You look more exhausted than I do." 

Helaine made a tired effort to smile in thanks. "The herbs I need should be on my dresser, and the basin near the windowsill."

"Okay," he said, nodding. "I'll be right back." 

Helaine leaned back on the couch to wait for him to come back.

She was asleep within two minutes. 

"Finally," Destiny breathed as they came upon the village that she'd pointed out earlier. "I was beginning to think that they'd moved this place or something."

Pixel glanced around the small, near-deserted cluster of buildings. "How long are we staying here?" he asked.

"The night," she replied. "Come on." She led the way to one of the buildings, a long one-story structure with almost no windows. Opening the main door, she ushered him in and then immediately stepped in front of him.

The inside had all the charm of a barn, really. The lighting was dark, the odor something that Pixel really didn't want to think about, and the patrons in the dining area were some of the strangest bunch he'd ever seen.

"Stare, and they won't hesitate to kill," muttered Destiny. "Keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking." Grabbing his arm, she dragged him over to the bar. "Hey, Derspi! How's business?"

The bartender turned around and grinned toothily with his two teeth. They were large teeth, too…twin fangs that hung down from his upper jaw to the bottom of his chin. He was holding seven glasses and a rag, which Pixel noted was probably a piece of cake for him since he had eight arms. "Well, if it isn't Destiny," Derspi said thickly, his voice slightly distorted due to his fangs. "Guiding another magic-user through the Void?"

Every single person/animal/thing in the room stopped whatever they were doing and turned to look at them. The term 'magic-user' seemed to have caught their attention indefinitely, and Pixel started to feel a little nervous.

"Got that right," Destiny said, smirking. "And I'll thank you to keep your boys away from him." 

"You sure, Destiny?" a soft, whispery voice spoke up from the corner. Pixel glanced over to see a tall, voluptuous woman rising up from the table she was sitting at. "He's mighty nice to look at. I'd give you a fair price."

Destiny threaded her arm through his and hugged it to her side possessively. "He'd be nothing but trouble for you, Sica," she said tauntingly. She stepped closer to Pixel and murmured, "Don't turn your back on her for a minute. She'd drag you off, have her way, and then eat your bones for breakfast." Pixel felt his face heat up at her blunt explanation, but nodded seriously. 

"We just want a room, Derspi," Destiny said, shooting one last glare around the room before turning back to the bartender. "Something decent."

"And what'll you give me?" Derspi asked suspiciously. 

Destiny rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, old man. You owe me one."

Derspi sighed. "Well, you did save me from those ghouls last time…yeah, I guess I do. But only for one night - then it's going on your tab, got it?"

"Thanks, Derspi," Destiny said cheerfully. She held out her hand, and Derspi reached over one of his hands to pluck a key off the wall and place it in her outstretched palm. 

"Enjoy!" he called after them as Destiny led Pixel off down the hallway that led to the inn part of the inn/tavern. 

The room Derspi had given them was a welcome change from the rest of the inn, and Pixel was relieved to see that it wasn't much different from his room back on Dondar. Smaller, yes, but clean and well taken care of. "That wasn't so bad," he said to Destiny as she walked over to the bed. "What are you doing?"

She was pulling up the blankets and checking underneath the mattress as she spoke to him. "Checking for traps. I trust Derspi, but no one else. And I only trust him because he's big on honor, and I've saved his life a couple of times, so he feels like he owes me."

"Traps?" 

"Once I was in an inn where there were two beds in the room, and the one the magic-user I was guiding was sleeping on exploded in the middle of the night," Destiny explained once she'd finished her check. Then she started to put the bed back together. Pixel moved over to the other side of the bed and helped her. "Fortunately, he wasn't sleeping on it at the time."

"Where was he?" Pixel asked. 

Destiny ignored his question and continued to make the bed. 

"There," she said with satisfaction once she was finished. She plopped down on it and sighed. "Hope you don't mind that there's only one bed," she said. "Less risk." 

Pixel shrugged and sat down on a chair in the corner of the room. "It's not a problem," he said, running his fingers through his shaggy red hair. He hadn't gotten it cut in a while, and it was beginning to get a little long. He sighed. 

"What?" Destiny asked from the bed. 

"I need a haircut," he said. "I'm not used to long hair." 

She rolled over onto her side and looked at him. "It looks okay," she said. "You'll have to deal with it, anyway, whether it does or not. You can't use magic, and I wouldn't trust anyone here to give you a haircut, or you might find…"

"…that they cut off my head as well?" Pixel finished, grinning ruefully. 

"Uh, yeah," Destiny muttered. "Damn, you're good. I forgot about that special ability of yours." She rolled back onto her bed and closed her eyes. "You tired?"

"A little," he said. "Why aren't there any windows in this place? It's kind of dark."

"Oh, trust me," Destiny said, "considering the sort of business that goes on around here after nightfall, you don't really want to be able to see outside."

"What sort of business?" Pixel asked, curious. 

"Nothing you'd want to hear about," Destiny replied. "You should get some rest." 

"You're using the bed," Pixel replied. 

Destiny sat up and rolled her eyes. "Your point?" she asked. "I'll take half, you take half."

Pixel's eyes widened. "Share…the bed?"

"Well, duh," she taunted. "Neither of us would get much rest on the floor, and there _is only one bed…what did you think we were going to do?"_

"I…well, I guess I assumed that one of us would take up watch while the other slept," Pixel stammered.

"Don't worry about that," Destiny said. "So long as you stick with me, you'll be fine. They can't harm the guides, remember? That would be another reason for us to share the bed." She smirked. "What's the matter? Afraid you won't be able to control yourself?"

Pixel narrowed his eyes. "Let's get one thing straight here," he said tightly. "I've been putting up with your taunting and teasing since we got into this place, and frankly, I'm more than a little sick of it. You keep stressing how important trust is between a magic-user and guide, but you don't seem to be doing a thing to earn my trust. So knock it off with your sarcasm and insults, and act decent for a change." 

Destiny stared at him for a second. "You done?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, then." She rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes. "Get in bed and go to sleep. We've got a long day…and another trial…ahead of us."

_Yea, thought Pixel as he lay down on his own side of the bed. _

It didn't take long for him to doze off, and when she heard his soft, even breathing, Destiny was relieved. She shifted slightly and rolled over so that she was lying on her back, where she could pretty much see everything in the room. It was true that the citizens of the Void weren't supposed to harm the guides, but they didn't always follow the rules. She'd nearly gotten her own throat slit a couple of times while watching out for one of her charges. 

She could hardly believe that this time, she was guiding Pixel…_Pixel!…through the Void. It'd been four years since she'd last laid eyes on the young magician, and those four years had done wonders for him. Not only physically, but mentally as well. She remembered him as being a skinny, blue-skinned kid who hadn't seemed to have grown into his own body yet, and who seemed to be more concerned with figuring everyone else out than with figuring himself out. He'd been more than a little naive, and not all that good at seeing the big picture on a regular basis. _

She'd known the new Pixel for less than twenty-four hours, and already he was surprising her. Physically, he'd filled out to the point where his thinness couldn't be considered skinny, but more lean and lithe. He still had the blue skin, of course, but instead of the uncertain gleam in his eyes, there'd been one of edgy confidence. He didn't take things at face value and then try to figure them out – now it was more like he tried to figure things out before looking at what was right there in front of him. He was calmer, more sure of himself than he had been. If she had tried to pull what she had done four years ago on _this Pixel, she wouldn't even have gotten out of the wheelchair. _

Destiny twisted a lock of black hair around her finger and sighed. It had been awhile since she'd guided a male magic-user…her last few had all been female. Not surprising - the Omnipotent were probably still more than a little pissed at her for screwing up with…Destiny closed her eyes and drew in a few deep breaths. Now was not the time to be thinking about her past mistakes. Tomorrow was another day, and a new trial, just as she'd said to Pixel earlier. 

The second trial. 

The Trial of Sense. 

It, like the Trial of Silence, was actually pretty easy to figure out. The hard part was in the actual succeeding of the trial. The Trial of Sense was designed to completely warp the magic-user's mind so that he or she would see things that weren't entirely there. Destiny had always had to help her past magic-users through it, but she had a feeling that Pixel would be better suited for this task than any of her past charges. If there was one thing she remembered him being good at, it was figuring out the fact from the fiction. 

"Destiny?"

She froze. "You're awake?" she whispered. 

"Mmm-hmm," he murmured softly. "I don't fall asleep very easy. What's the trial tomorrow going to be like?"

"It's the Trial of Sense," Destiny told him. "I think you'll do fine." 

"Okay," he said.  "And Destiny?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever you're afraid of…don't be. I'm not going to fail like your other magic-users." 

Destiny opened her mouth to reply that no, she wasn't afraid, after all, it wasn't her life that was on the line here – but she couldn't. Once again, Pixel had seen through the veiled words and sensed the underlying meaning. She was afraid. And there was nothing that she could say to him to deny it. 

It didn't matter, anyway. He'd fallen asleep, this time for real, leaving her alone with her thoughts. 

_Am I really afraid? she thought, staring up at the ceiling. __Why? Why would I be afraid? If he loses, then it's back to the Inter-Realm for me, and I'll just wait for the next magic-user to come along who needs a guide. Besides, who knows what'll happen if we reach the exit? No guide has ever come back after completing the trip through the Void…what if they all get wiped out of existence? _

But what if that wasn't the case?

Destiny refused to even think about the other explanation for those guides to not return from the completed journey. She had only ever given voice to it once, when she was guiding…

It was quite a few hours before Destiny felt safe enough in the room to fall asleep herself. She'd forced herself not to think at all for those few hours, and now rolled onto her side and closed her eyes to sleep. 

_What if…they returned to life? _

"So he's entered the Void. Lovely. This is just going to complicate my plans even more. I can't believe you would be that stupid, Nantor - but then, you made an enemy out of me, so I guess you really _are that stupid._

"Well, we'll see who gets the last laugh. You may think that Traxis and Eremin will be here to greet you if you get out, but guess again. I've got a little surprise in store for you, Nantor. You'll pay for what you did to my family - my mother, my father, my sisters. 

"Just you wait, Nantor. I'll tear your little synthetic family away from, like you pulled mine from me! You'll regret ever returning to this plane of existence!

"You'll regret it. I promise." 

He smirked, thinking of the little surprise he had planted for Eremin. While the Void kept Nantor busy, he'd take care of the lady warrior. She'd never slay another living being again.

It was the least he could do, to repay her for slaughtering his past.


	9. Chronos, Master of Deceit

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter Nine: Chronos, Master of Deceit**

Score came downstairs, herbs and basin in hand, and stopped short when he caught sight of Helaine curled up and fast asleep on the couch. Her head was resting on her arms, a pillow tucked beneath them, and her legs were pulled up close to her body. Her long blond hair was spread out like a fan, and she looked incredibly peaceful. _How can someone so temperamental during the day look so serene at night? he thought affectionately. _

Setting the basin down on a nearby table, Score quietly moved over to the couch. Slowly, he moved Helaine so that she was stretched out instead of curled up, then placed one of the blankets strewn around the room over her. He'd let her get some rest before waking her up. Stifling a yawn of his own, Score sat down on the second couch in the room, and grimaced when he almost lost his hand down a tear in the cushion. The intruder had done a number on some of the furniture. 

Score stroked the cushion with his hand, and the tear immediately vanished, leaving the fabric as good as new. Noticing Helaine's book on the floor next to her, where she'd dropped it after nodding off, he picked it up and started to flip through it. While the book truly was Helaine's property, any magic-user could use the spells in it. It didn't take him long to find the barrier spell that she'd located earlier. Unfortunately, it called for a couple of mixtures that he didn't know how to do, and really didn't want to risk experimenting with. 

"Good Lord, what happened here?"

Score snapped the book shut and looked up at Oracle, who was standing in the middle of the disaster and looking around with wide eyes. "Warn me before you do that again!" he snapped.

Oracle just shook his head and he looked around him. "I take it you had a visitor?"

"Yeah," Score replied tiredly. "And I still haven't gotten any sleep." 

Oracle stepped closer and got a better look at the sixteen-year-old. "I'll keep an eye on things," he offered. "Why don't you catch up? I came here to tell you and Helaine something, but it can wait for morning."

Score glanced wearily out the window, and the lightening sky outside. "It is morning."

"Then it can wait a few more hours," Oracle amended. "Get some sleep. You look exhausted." 

Score managed a tired grin, then stretched out on his own couch – and repaired another tear in the process – before falling asleep immediately. Soon, the only sounds in the castle living room were the soft sounds of two people breathing as they slept. 

Oracle looked around the ransacked room and shook his head. He had no idea why the intruder would want to completely tear this place apart, unless he was looking for something, and Oracle couldn't think at all what that could be. If this person really did have a fixation on the new Triad because of who they had once been, then there was nothing here that he or she could possibly have been interested in. None of what Helaine, Score, and Pixel owned had belonged to the Triad. 

Except…

Oracle's eyes fell on the Book of Magic, sitting calmly on the end table by the couch Score was sleeping on. "You know something, don't you?" he asked the book. 

The book remained silent. 

"Don't act like that," Oracle chided. "We're friends, right?"

_Friends? Hah._

Oracle rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. Just because I once said you looked like an ancient spell book doesn't mean I think you're old. You age well."

_What do you want?_

"You were here when whoever it was tore through here," Oracle said. "Whoever it was has a Triad fixation, so he or she must have been after you."

_What makes you think I'm the only thing here that belonged to the Triad? _

"Aren't you?" 

The book was again silent. 

Oracle sighed. "Fine, be that way." He turned his back on the book and set about making some attempt to straighten things up. The nice thing about being a potential was that he had amplified mental abilities, and therefore didn't really need to touch things in order to move them. Not that he'd ever tell anybody that. The last thing he wanted was to end up as somebody's maid. 

_Silent hymns will haunt the mind. A secret hides between two pine. Swirling gems before the eye. Dreams will aid when they don't try._

Oracle rolled his eyes and turned to glare at the book. "I suppose that's all you're going to tell me?" he asked. "It doesn't help much."

_Think about it, genius._

Oracle sighed and shook his head, then finished straightening up the rest of the room. When he was finished, he found another blanket and made sure that Score was covered up, then smiled slightly as he looked at the two sleeping teenagers. At age sixteen, they were still just kids, really. Compared to most magic-users, they were brand-new. Except that they weren't. And sometimes, he knew, that knowledge could be a heavy burden for them. 

"Silent hymns will haunt the mind." The words came unbidden out of his mouth, and he narrowed his eyes. "A secret hides between two pine. Swirling gems before the eye. I don't get it…" 

He forced himself to focus. 

"Silent  hymns will haunt the mind…"

A vague feeling of recognition. 

"A secret hides between two pine…"

What had the book been trying to say?

"Swirling gems before the eye…" 

A flash of memory, fleeting. 

"Dreams will aid when they don't try…" 

Oracle groaned and closed his eyes. "I don't get it," he muttered. 

_Silent hymns…a secret hides…swirling gems…dreams will aid when they don't try…_

_Dreams will aid…_

_Dreams…_

Oracle was out of the room in a flash, disappearing and reappearing in Pixel's room. There, lined up neatly on his dresser, were his four gems. Three of them were the same, perfect size. 

_But the ruby was just slightly larger than the rest!_

"Damn!" Oracle swore. He vanished and returned to the living room, where he immediately looked for Helaine and Score's own gemstones. Sure enough, their secondary gems were the normal size, but the sapphire and the emerald had grown in size. 

There was no way he could leave Helaine and Score alone with these faux gemstones, but until they woke up, he wouldn't be able to move them. The gemstones were protected by magic, and his telekinesis wouldn't be able to touch them. And he couldn't just wake up the two, either. 

Oracle glared at the faux gemstones. "What the hell do you want?"

Chronos smirked to himself, knowing that the guardian couldn't see him. Although he could see the pale man perfectly through the stones he had planted. While Helaine and Score both still had their original gemstones on them, the shock of seeing the castle wrecked had made them focus on more important things, and hadn't noticed anything strange about the planted gemstones he'd left lying around.

Exactly as he'd planned, of course. 

"What is it you think I want?" Chronos asked slyly. 

There was a startled gasp from the man as he jerked around the face the gemstones. "You can hear me," Oracle said, eyes narrowed. 

"Of course," Chronos replied. "These gemstones were an ingenious way to keep an eye on these two, weren't they? Oh, and by the way, if you're waiting for them to wake up it's not going to happen." 

Oracle's eyes widened. "What?"

"I placed a little magical surprise on that room before I left," replied Chronos. "Any mortal human who enters that room will be in for a special little trip off to lullaby land after spending a certain amount of time in there - and unless the magic is taken off, they'll remain sleeping. And the longer they sleep, the longer is will take for them to waken. They will do nothing but sleep…and slowly waste away to a very unpleasant death. Quaint, no?"

"No," growled Oracle. 

"You don't scare me, guardian," Chronos taunted. "I know that you can't do anything to harm me. You don't even know who I am."

"Don't be so sure about that…Chronos," Oracle snapped. 

Chronos was taken aback. "You're smarter than I gave you credit for," he said as he tried to regain his composure. "How did you figure it out?"

Oracle didn't respond for a minute, and when he did, it wasn't to answer the question. "How do you get rid of the enchantment?" he asked. 

"Oh, no," Chronos said, shaking his head even though Oracle couldn't see him. "You really think I'm going to tell you? I've spent too much time plotting my revenge against the Triad - although Traxis and Eremin aren't my true targets, you know. It's Nantor that I really want." 

"They aren't the Triad!" shouted Oracle, losing his grip on his long-fused temper. "Yes, their bodies are those of the Three Who Ruled, but their souls are different! They aren't the same at all! They've spent the last four years, ever since they arrived in the Diadem, _protecting the Circuits!" _

"Yes, and they've succeeded in deceiving plenty of people," Chronos said, his voice cold. "They are masters at deceit, aren't they? But I know for a fact that nobody can change just like that - I will not be deceived! And I will _get my revenge!" He held up his hand waved it over the floating crystal, and the image of Oracle faded. Chronos reached up and rubbed his temples, warding off the headache that was threatening to surface. _

_It won't take long for those crystals to completely take effect, he thought. __Soon Traxis and Eremin will be completely lost to their power. Then there's only Nantor. Without the power of the other two, I can finally destroy him. _

_Fate, Destiny, I will get my revenge. I promise you that. _

Chronos leaned forward and covered his face with his hands. "Fate," he whispered, his voice trembling. "Destiny. Oh, God, Destiny! Destiny!" 

"Destiny!"

Destiny looked over at Pixel sharply. "What?" she demanded. 

"Are you even paying attention to anything I'm saying?" he asked crossly. "What are you thinking about that's got you so out of it, anyway?"

"None of your business," Destiny muttered. "Can't a girl be alone with her own thoughts?"

Pixel's indignant expression softened slightly. "Look, if it's about last night, I'm sorry if I offended you or anything. It's just that it's pretty obvious to me that you're dealing with some pretty heavy thoughts…and sometimes it's okay if you want to focus on them. But right now I need you to help me get out of this place…preferably alive…so I would prefer it if you would focus on what's going on around you when I need you to. Okay?"

Destiny sighed. Pixel was being very reasonable about it, considering that she hadn't really listened to a word he'd been saying since they'd gotten through the Trial of Sense. Like she'd predicted, he'd passed that particular trial with ease, and they'd both been feeling so good that they'd completely bypassed the last town and gone through the third trial - the Trial of Sound - which they'd also gotten through easily. "Sorry," she apologized. 

"It's all right," Pixel said, giving her a half-smile. "So what now? Stop at the next town or go on to trial number four?"

She bit her lip. "The next Trial is the Trial of Sight. I've only gotten through it once - it's a cave, completely pitch black. It in itself is almost like a void, and to get through it, you basically have to have nerves of steel and be on top of your game. It's at least a two days walk from here, so we'll stay at the next town, and then head out first thing in the morning." She bit her lip. "Unfortunately, the next town is called Sec, and it's the only one before the Trial of Sight."

Pixel frowned. "So that means we'll end up having to camp outside the second night, won't it?" 

"Possibly the night after that, too, depending on when we reach the Trial of Sight," confirmed Destiny. "It's not a trial that I would recommend doing in the middle of the night."

"Okay," Pixel said. She glanced at him. He seemed confidant, but she had a feeling that a lot of it was for show. He was just as thrilled as she was about sleeping outdoors - and that wasn't very thrilled at all. "So, do you have a good word at this Sec place, too?"

"Not at all," Destiny said ruefully. "I accidentally ended up burning it down once - fortunately these places recover almost instantaneously, but still…they hold a grudge. We won't actually stay in the inn. There's an old shed that I use when I have to go there." 

"Lovely," muttered Pixel. "Well, lead the way."

The shed wasn't very hard to find - it was right outside the town, where they wouldn't be bothered, and it looked like the last person who had stayed there had picked it up a little. "Guides and magic-users are pretty much taboo in this place anyway," Destiny explained as she dug through a trunk in the corner to find at least one blanket that hadn't been eaten through by moths,. "We use this place a lot. Sometimes it's not in very good condition, but we lucked out this time. Ah, jackpot!" She lifted a large, fluffy blanket out of the very bottom and tossed it to Pixel. "Spread that out on the floor."

Pixel did as commanded, noticing that it was in pretty good condition. "What type of fabric is this?" he asked. 

"It's fur," answered Destiny. "And it's soft and clean, so don't ask what type. I don't know, and I don't really want to find out, considering some of the things in this place. But it's comfortable and we've got a long trip ahead of us, so we'll use it." She managed to locate a small book of matches - there was only one left - and got a respectable fire going in the small fireplace. "How much food do we still have from the last town?"

Pixel checked the bag that they'd bought as well. "We're pretty good," he said. "Enough to get us through the next two days, at least." 

"Hungry?" she asked. He shook his head. 

"Neither am I. We'll save it for later." She sat down on the blanket and stared silently at the fire. Pixel sat next to her and noticed that she seemed to have gotten lost in her thoughts again. 

_What happened that makes her do that? he thought. __I know that she didn't have a particularly good time on one of her last trips through this place, but I wish I knew exactly what had happened. I have a feeling that this might end up getting us in trouble somewhere down the line. She looks so sad, though - I don't want to push her into telling me anything. _

Pixel had to admit, though, that he had been more than surprised by Destiny so far on this trip. Before, he'd been pretty much convinced that the Destiny he'd met in New York had been a front, a fake Destiny to hide the power-crazed sorceress that she really was. But now he couldn't help wondering if what he had seen really _had been the real Destiny…or at least part of the real Destiny? She hadn't acted the least bit psychotic since they'd entered the Void, and he'd found himself growing more and more comfortable around her. _

_But if this is the real Destiny, why was she so power-mad before? What could've caused her to be like that? And what could've caused her to change? _

"Destiny?" 

"Hmm?" She looked over at him, and he noticed how tired she seemed. He, too, was feeling a little drained, but he hadn't realized that it was the same for you.

"We should get some sleep," he said. "Is it safe for the fire to be on?"

Destiny nodded. "While neither of us can work magic right now, this place is magical. The fire will be fine." She stretched out on the blanket. "Good night."

"'Night," he whispered, but she was already asleep. Pixel sighed, laid down, and closed his eyes. 


	10. The Bond of Trust

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter Ten: The Bond of Trust**

Destiny wasn't entirely sure what made her wake up in the middle of the night. One minute she was fast asleep, the next she was sitting straight up, shivering, eyes wide open. 

Something wasn't right.

She leaned over and shook Pixel by the shoulder. "Pixel," she hissed. "Wake up."

Groggily, Pixel opened his eyes and looked at her. "What is it?" he mumbled. 

"Do you feel that?"

Pixel sat up and listened. A chill ran down his spine, and he noticed how quite it had gotten. "What is it?" he whispered, suddenly wide awake.

"Get up," Destiny replied, grabbing his arm. "We have to get out of here. Don't bother grabbing our supplies, there isn't enough time. That's the Void that we're feeling…dangerously close."

"I thought we were _in the Void," Pixel hissed. He clutched her arm and yanked her around to look at him. "What's going on, Destiny?"_

"It's a Trial," replied Destiny. "The mind of the Void is what we're feeling, and it's trying to give you a surprise Trial. The Trials that the Void comes up with on its own are about ten times more dangerous than the Trials scattered out in a linear pattern throughout the Void itself. It's not entirely here yet – we have to outrun it."

"Can we do that?" Pixel asked as he immediately let go of her arm and grabbed their bag. He didn't bother putting any of the stuff that was scattered around into it, he just took what was already there. 

"If we move quickly enough," Destiny replied. "I don't know how much time we have." She headed for the door and reached for the handle…and was immediately repelled by some dark, unseen force. 

"Oof!" she cried as she slammed into Pixel, knocking them both to the ground. "Damn it!" 

"What happened?" Pixel demanded. 

"Someone sealed us in," Destiny growled. "Not the Void…someone else. Probably someone from the village who saw us arrive. We're stuck in here until the Trial is over." 

"We don't have a choice?" 

She shook her head. "Look. It's already beginning."

In the middle of the room, a large black tear began to form, similar in a way to the Portals. It grew larger, covering everything in the room. Everything that it touched turned an eerie shade of bluish-purple. Destiny clutched Pixel's arm and closed her eyes as the blackness washed over them, bathing them in the same eerie light. When she opened her eyes, she looked over to see Pixel staring around them in wonderment. "What is this?" he wondered. His voice echoed, an unnerving sound.

"I don't know," Destiny replied. "I've never been in this type of Trial before. I don't recognize it." 

_WELCOME, TRAVELERS. _

Pixel narrowed his eyes. "You must be the Trial Master." 

_AH, THE WIZARD OF SIGHT. YES. I AM THIS TRIAL'S MASTER. _

"You're good," Destiny complimented Pixel softly. "Do me a favor, though – if you're going to talk to it, don't piss it off."

_YOUR GUIDE ADVISES YOU WISELY. THIS IS GOOD. DO YOU LISTEN TO YOUR GUIDE?_

Pixel knew, instinctively, that his answers could mean the difference between life and death. And his answers would have to be worded very carefully until he could figure out what this Trial was testing for. "I listen," Pixel replied slowly, "but I do not always hear."

_A WISE ANSWER. DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR GUIDE?_

"As well as one new to the Void can understand one's guide," he answered. 

_UNDERSTOOD. DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR CHARGE?_

With a start, Destiny realized that the Trial Master was speaking to her. "I am slowly beginning to understand him," she said softly.

_DO YOU TRUST YOUR CHARGE?_

"I would trust him with my life," Destiny answered. 

_YET YOU KEEP SECRETS FROM HIM._

Pixel looked at her sharply, and she met his eyes. _He knows, thought Destiny. __Pixel knows that I'm keeping something from him…he's telling me to tell the truth. "Yes." _

_ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE SECRET YOU KEEP FROM HIM?_

"Yes."

_WHY?_

Destiny blinked. "I…" She glanced at Pixel uneasily. "I'm afraid that it could happen again."

_A WISE ANSWER. TRUST IS IMPORTANT BETWEEN A GUIDE AND A CHARGE. YOU HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE. _

And in that instant, Pixel knew, or partially knew, what the Trial was. "I believe what she said was, 'Rule number one when trying to protect yourself from the specialized trials is to not trust anyone but your guide. Rule number two is that your guide is only going to trust you, so don't betray that trust.'" 

The Trial Master chuckled softly. _AND SO YOU HAVE FIGURED ME OUT._

"The Trial of Truth," replied Pixel, nodding. "You seek only truthful answers, and seek to cement the bond between guide and magic-user." Destiny looked at him in amazement, and he tried not to notice. 

_VERY GOOD. AN EXCELLENT ANALYSIS OF MY PURPOSE. YOU HAVE PLEASED ME. _

Destiny bit her lip. "I'm confused." 

"Don't you see?" Pixel asked. "The Trial isn't here to try and destroy us – quite the opposite. The Trial is here to help us." 

_THE SPEACILIZED TRIALS ARE ALL LIKE THAT, GUIDE. YOU DO NOT KNOW THIS BECAUSE NO CHARGE OF YOURS HAS SURVIVED A SPECIALIZED TRIAL. WITH EACH PASSING, POWER IS BESTOWED UPON THE MAGIC-USER TO AID HIM IN HIS TRAVEL THROUGH THE VOID. AND BECAUSE YOU HAVE PASSED THIS TRIAL, YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO GAIN MY POWER. LISTEN CLOSELY._

Pixel nodded and drew in a deep breath. "I'm ready."

_YOUR NAME IS PIXEL._

Pixel hesitated slightly, then looked at Destiny. _You have to trust her, he told himself. "No," he replied. "My name is Shalar." _

_YOU COME FROM THE WORLD DONDAR OF THE INNER CIRCUIT._

"I come from the world Calormir, of the Rim Worlds." 

_YOU ARE THE REINCARNATION OF NANTOR OF THE TRIAD._

"I am the reincarnation of Nantor's body, but not his soul. I am not Nantor." 

_YOU FEAR THE JOURNEY AHEAD OF YOU._

"Yes." 

_YOU HAVE PASSED THE TRIAL. RECEIVE MY POWER. _

A bright sphere appeared in front of Pixel, and he pressed his hand upon it. Immediately, a flood of warmth entered his body and calmed his fears. He no longer felt quite as helpless as he had before. He no longer felt quite as afraid as he had before. 

_KNOW THIS, SHALAR. KNOW THIS, MICHIRU. TO TRUST EACH OTHER IS TO TELL THE TRUTH. YOURS IS A BOND I HAVE NOT SEEN IN QUITE SOME TIME. BUT WITHOUT TRUST, BONDS ARE USELESS. _

And then the Trial was over, and they were sitting in the middle of the shack once more. Everything was back to its normal color, and the room was warm once more from the fire. 

Pixel and Destiny stared at each other uncertainly for a few minutes. "Your name is Michiru?" asked Pixel after a while.

"Yes," Destiny said, nodding. "You're Shalar?"

"Yes." Pixel sighed. "We have power over each other now. We have no choice but to trust each other."

"The Trial of Truth," murmured Destiny. "A specialized Trial – it wasn't as bad as I thought. Did it really give you power?"

Pixel nodded. "Look." He gestured towards the fireplace, and instantly the fire froze into tendrils of ice. With another gesture, it became fire again. "It's strange. I've never had the ability to manipulate the elements like that. Score and Helaine have always been better at that than me. I'm better at figuring things out than experimenting with magic." 

Destiny stroked the fur blanket softly. "That was a little unnerving." 

"I know." Pixel sighed. "Destiny?"

"Yes?"

"I think…I think you need to tell me what happened. Because I have a feeling the Trials are going to get a lot harder from here on out – and something you said to the Trial Master made me think." Destiny held her breath and waited for him to continue. "You said you were afraid of whatever it was happening again."

She bit her lip and looked down at her hands, which were resting in her lap. "It's…hard to talk about. I don't like thinking about it."

"But you do," Pixel said. "A lot." 

Destiny nodded. "It was…it was about five journeys ago, for me. I was guiding a young magic-user through the Void…his name was David, and he was new to magic, so he didn't have to get used to not relying on magic. We made an excellent team, David and I." She swallowed hard as an image of David rose up in her mind, and she immediately clamped down on it. No matter how many times she thought about it, she refused to remember what he looked like. It still hurt too much. 

"You were in love with him," Pixel said softly. 

"Yes. And I thought…I thought he loved me as well. We trusted each other immensely, and had been through so much during our journey through the Void. We were almost to the end of the journey when David and I were thrust into a specialized Trial.

"The Trial of the Heart." 

Pixel had a feeling that he knew what was coming, judging from Destiny's bitter tone, but he kept his mouth shut and waited for her to go on.

"The Trial asked us if we truly cared about each other as much as we claimed we did. We both responded yes…and then it opened up our minds to each other. And I saw that David…well, he apparently didn't love me as much as he claimed to have loved me. The Trial asked David if he would give up his own life for me…and he said no. He knew he couldn't lie. His survival would always come first." 

"What happened to him?" Pixel asked softly.

Destiny shook her head. "I don't know. I believe he's dead, most likely. The Trial was enraged that he had falsely laid claim to affections he didn't feel, and there was a bright flash of light. I could _feel the journey ending, and the next thing I knew, I had awaked by in the Inter-Realm, waiting for the next magic-user to be assigned to me. I was always assigned to girls after that - I guess the Omnipotent didn't want to run the risk of what happened to David happening to another magic-user. I was surprised when they assigned me to you." _

"He failed the Trial because he didn't care for you as much as he said he did?" Pixel asked, his eyes narrowed.

"If he had just been truthful to the Trial Master, we would have made it," Destiny said. "But he would've lost the devotion that I felt for him, and therefore would've lost part of his edge. He had me completely fooled. And I've been afraid of the same thing happening all over again."

"Destiny." 

The tone in Pixel's voice made Destiny look up from her hands and focus on him. His expression was hard, and he spoke with a no-nonsense tone. "What happened with David…it won't happen with me. I trust you, and I trust you completely. If I didn't before I do now. Now I want you to be absolutely truthful with me on this…why would you think the same thing would happen with me?"

Destiny bit her lip. "Because…you're someone that I could care about, Pixel. As much as I cared about David. Maybe more. And…nobody has ever cared for me as much as I cared for them."

"So you keep everyone away to stop yourself from caring about them," Pixel replied. "Destiny…do you know how stupid that is?"

She stared at him. 

"Just because you've been hurt in the past doesn't mean that you just give up," Pixel continued. "I admit – I had some concerns about you back when this whole thing started up, and I've been trying to figure you out…how you could act so homicidal on Earth and Zarathan and then be so nice here in the Void. I've been trying to figure out what the real Destiny is like."

"And?" Destiny asked bitterly. "What have you determined, Dr. Freud?" 

Pixel stood up and walked over to her. He reached down and held out his hand. When she took it, he hauled her to her feet so that she was standing directly in front of him. He was a couple of inches taller, so she had to tilt her head back slightly to look up at him. 

"The real Destiny," Pixel said softly, "is the quiet, determined computer genius I met on Long Island. That girl I instantly liked. She's also the somewhat crazy sorceress determined to get as much power as she can so that she can survive. If she hadn't been so insistent on trying to kill me, then I might have learned to get used to her. And the real Destiny is also the street-smart, no-nonsense person who managed to put her disgust towards me aside to help me survive this - and managed to bring herself to trust me. And that Destiny I'm liking more every moment." 

Destiny blinked back tears and looked away from him. "Sometimes I think you're too smart for your own good," she said. "Are you really the same naïve twelve-year-old I managed to manipulate on Zarathan?"

Pixel smiled. "Actually, no. For one thing, I'm sixteen now. And I'm not quite as naïve. I don't think you'd be able to pull that trick on me again even if you wanted to." Suddenly he looked worried. "You don't right?"

Destiny couldn't help it. The look on his face was absolutely adorable. She laughed and threw her arms around him, squeezing him hard. "No!" she said, grinning. 

Pixel hugged her back. "Friends?" he whispered. 

She nodded. "You're nothing like Nantor."

"Thank God for that," he replied, rolling his eyes as they pulled apart. "So…shall we get going?" 

Destiny glanced towards the door. "Hopefully that barrier should have worn off by now." She walked over to it and pulled it open with ease. "Yup. It's gone. Let's go." 

Pixel gathered the strewn food back into the bag and hoisted it onto his shoulder. He walked over to her and took her hand. "Lead the way," he said.

"Nah," Destiny said, shaking her head. "Let's just walk together this time." 

Shanara slammed the last book shut and growled in anger. "Nothing!" she shouted into the empty room. "Absolutely nothing!" 

"What now?" grumbled Blink as he padded in to see what was wrong. 

"There isn't a single bit of information on Chronos in any of these books," she snarled. "He's done a hell of a job keeping himself hidden. There are a few things that _sound like they could be him, but nothing conclusive." Shanara leaned forward at the table and rested her chin on her elbows. "And __what is taking Oracle so long?"_

"Why don't you try scrying to find out?" asked Blink, stretching and yawning as he prepared to take another nap.

Shanara perked up at the prospect. "That actually sounds like a good idea," she said. She rose from the table and walked over to where Blink was laying. Amidst avid protests from the overweight red panda, she picked him up and marched him towards her scrying pool, where she immediately began to weave an incantation. 

Within minutes she had a clear picture of the living room in the castle, which was much neater thanks to Oracle. Helaine and Score were fast asleep on the couch, and Oracle was pacing back and forth, obviously upset about something. 

Shanara sighed and closed her eyes, muttering a spell.

In the castle, Oracle suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as Shanara seemed to materialize out of nowhere. "What in the world?" exclaimed Oracle.

"Don't tell me you've never seen astral projection before," Shanara said sarcastically. "Just because I can't come to Dondar physically doesn't mean my spirit can't. I scryed you out. What's going on? You're worried about something." 

Oracle nodded, his face taut with anger. He motioned to Score and Helaine. "Those two," he said, "are under an enchantment by Chronos. He broke in here, replaced the emerald and the sapphire with faux gemstones - counting on the fact that they wouldn't remember that the real ones were in their pockets while they were getting over the shock of the mess in the castle - and now they're sleeping. They'll die if they don't wake up soon, and I can't do anything to break the enchantment."

Shanara's eyes widened. "Doesn't sound good." She glanced over at the two worriedly. "The real gemstones are on them?" she asked.

"Right," Oracle said. "But I can't touch them, and neither can you. We'd need someone else." 

"What about the unicorns?" asked Shanara. "Could they help in some way?"

"I thought about that," Oracle admitted. "They could probably negate the magic of the gems, but preparing would take awhile, and they'd also end up negating the barriers that are still up. And then Chronos could just waltz right in here and do whatever he pleases." 

"Doesn't he do that already?" Blink's astral form commented from Shanara's arms.

Shanara and Oracle looked at each other.

"I didn't think of that," Oracle admitted. He looked at the two teenagers. "But I don't want to leave them alone."

"Stay with them," Shanara said. "I'll go talk to the unicorns."

"Do they know who you are?" Oracle asked doubtfully.

"Does that matter?"

He nodded. "Their leader, Thunder - he doesn't really trust humans. He likes Score, Helaine, and Pixel, and he tolerates me, but only because he knows that we're not a threat to his herd. You showing up, even if it's just in astral form, might cause some chaos among the herd. Why don't you stay here and I'll go talk to them?"

"Well, it's not the best situation, but…okay," Shanara agreed. "Just be quick. This tires me out quickly." 

Oracle nodded and vanished immediately. 

Shanara sighed and stroked Blink's back. "What are we going to do, Blink?" she murmured. "This situation is quickly spiraling out of control. If we don't get the three of them united - and soon - then we could find ourselves in a whole lot of trouble."

"Unfortunately, we have to wait until Pixel leaves the Void," Blink muttered. "Too bad we can't go in after him."

Shanara paused. "What?"

"I said, 'Too bad we can't go in after him'," Blink repeated. He looked up and noticed the expression on Shanara's face. "No. Oh, no. Not that look. Shanara, we can't go after him. It's too dangerous. Remember what Oracle told us about the Void?"

"So we won't go after him," Shanara said, shrugging. "But we might be able to find a way to bring him out."

Blink groaned. "Great. Me and my big mouth." 

Shanara ignored him. She hoped that Oracle got back soon with the unicorns - she had a feeling she was going to need all the help she could get. 


	11. Changing Relationships

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter Eleven: Changing Relationships**

The herdlands were full of brightly colored unicorns that day, even though the sun had only come up about an hour or so earlier. Older unicorns patrolled the edges of the fields, keeping an eye out for intruders, while the younger ones pranced and played around happily. 

In the middle of the herdlands, a fierce-looking unicorn stood atop a large hill, surveying the entire herd below him. He wasn't the largest unicorn in the herd, and he wasn't as fierce as he liked to pretend, but he was still a challenging figure. It was to this unicorn that Oracle made his way to, now.

"Thunder," Oracle said as he approached the herd leader. 

Thunder turned to look at him and snorted in irritation. *What do _you want?* Thunder has about as much patience for Oracle as anyone else who met Oracle did. _

"I need the help of you and some of you herd members," Oracle said. "Score and Helaine have gotten themselves into a bit of a fix, and we need your negating powers to get them out of it."

*You're going to have to be more specific,* Thunder replied. *Negation is not something my people take lightly.*

"I'm afraid there aren't any other options," Oracle said. "See, someone has placed an enchantment over those two using false copies of their gemstones, and the only way to break the enchantment is to move the gems. I can't do it because I can't touch anything, and there's no one else who can, either."

Thunder tilted his head slightly to one side. *What about Pixel?*

Oracle cleared his throat nervously. "Pixel is…uh…missing."

*_WHAT?!* Thunder reared back on his hind legs and released a piercing scream, his forelegs thrashing in the air. When he landed back on all fours, he pointed his horn straight at Oracle's chest, momentarily forgetting that he would just pass right through the guardian spirit. *What do you mean, he's __missing?"_

"It's a long, complicated story, and we don't have that much time," Oracle said, not the slightest bit intimidated by the pointed horn. "I could tell it to you while some of the unicorns prepared to use negation." 

Thunder snorted again, but even he could see that there wasn't much of a choice. He turned towards the herd and held his head high. *Nova! Flame! Dustdevil! Cloud! Moondust! Orchid! Monsoon! Come to the High Hill immediately!*

Oracle watched as seven unicorns broke away from their clusters and hurried towards the High Hill where he and Thunder were standing. Nova and Flame he recognized instantly, as he did with the young Dustdevil. The chocolate-brown, white-flecked unicorn and the gleaming silver unicorn, Cloud and Moondust, he was also familiar with. Orchid, a young female with a bright purple coat specked with pink, and Monsoon, a colt with a midnight black coat touched up with shades of blue, were new to him. 

*Is something wrong, Thunder?* Nova asked her husband.

*We have need of the negation powers,* he told her, looking at the other six as well. *I want you all to immediately begin preparing your horns. When you're finished, return here.*

*Father, what's going on?* Flame asked. 

*It seems that our human friends have gotten themselves into another situation, and they need our help,* Thunder replied, his voice laced with contempt. But the way he hung his head made it obvious that he was actually worried about this. *Oracle will fill me in on the details while you prepare.*

*Will you, as well, Thunder?* Cloud wanted to know.

Thunder nodded to his friend. *Yes.*

The seven unicorns acknowledged their leaders request, and moved off to a secluded part of the herdlands, behind the High Hill, to prepare their horns for negation. Thunder moved over to a rock embedded in the ground in the middle of the hill, and touched his horn to his gently. *Now,* he said to Oracle as his horn began to glow slightly, *explain.*

"A couple days ago, Pixel was kidnapped from the castle using a Portal," Oracle began. "Somehow he managed to escape his captor, and ended up in the Inter-Realm – a place between the mortal world and the world of the dead, where all Portals pass through. There are only two choices to make in the Inter-Realm, one of which is to stay there and serve as a guardian, neither dead nor alive for the rest of eternity." 

*Which Pixel would never do,* Thunder said. *So he chose the second choice, which is?*

"To travel through the Void," Oracle replied.

Thunder started immediately, and barely remembered that he was preparing his horn and couldn't removed the tip from the rock or he'd have to start all over again. *The Void!* he exclaimed.

"You've heard of it?"

*Any unicorn worth his salt knows about the Void,* Thunder said indignantly. *Several of our kind have been lost to it over the many years since it was created, although a few have survived it – myself included.*

Oracle frowned. "You've been in the Void?"

*Yes,* Thunder said. *So Pixel is traveling through it?*

"Yes," replied Oracle, filing away Thunder's statement for future knowledge. He had a feeling it would be very important later on. "As far as I can tell, he's making progress, but I haven't checked in with the Inter-Realm recently. The current crisis – the one we can actually do something about – is that Helaine and Score seem to have gotten themselves mixed up with a real nasty character. Do you know who Destiny was?"

*I remember Score telling me about her, yes,* Thunder said. *She was responsible for making him sick four years ago.*

"Right. Well, it seems she has a brother who happens to be a very skilled magic-user himself. He's got a major grudge against the Triad, and doesn't seem to realize that Score, Helaine, and Pixel are the Triad only in appearances." 

*The worlds they've saved in the last four years haven't convinced him otherwise?* Thunder asked incredulously.

"Well, I don't think he's exactly playing with a full deck, if you know what I mean," Oracle said. "He ransacked the castle while Helaine and Score were on Rawn talking to their friend Shanara, and left a fake emerald and sapphire there. Helaine and Score were shocked when they discovered the place was wrecked, and didn't even notice that they had the real gems in their pockets. The more time they spent in the same room with the gems, the sleepier they became, until they were fast asleep and completely under the enchantment. The longer they stay asleep, the more likely it is that they'll die."

*Which is why you need us unicorns to negate the powers of those fake gemstones,* Thunder said. He stepped away from the stone and lifted his head, showing off his mother-of-pearl horn. It gleamed with an inner fire. *Negators, to me!*

Nova, Flame, Dustdevil, Cloud, Moondust, Orchid, and Monsoon joined them at the time of the High Hill, their owns horns glowing with power. Oracle made a mental note to not get on their bad sides when they were able to negate magic, or it'd be bye-bye guardian. 

Thunder gave them a condensed version of what Oracle had just told him, and then took off towards the castle at a fast gallop. The other seven were right behind him. 

Oracle nodded and vanished, reappearing at the castle. "Are they coming?" Shanara asked from where she was still keeping a watchful eye on the two sleepers. 

"Give them a few minutes," Oracle replied. "They have to run here, remember?" 

Shanara nodded. "Blink and I came up with an idea while you were gone," she said.

"Blink _and I?" Blink repeated. "How the heck was __I responsible for this nutty idea of yours?"_

"Anything that annoys Blink has got to be good," Oracle commented. "What is it?"

"Just a thought," Shanara said, "but one way to stay a step ahead of Chronos would be to get our hands on Pixel before he can." 

Oracle looked at her sharply, eyes widening. Then, slowly, he nodded. "It does make sense," he said. "But what if we can't find him?"

Shanara bit her lip. "Well, I guess – wait." She glanced towards the entrance to the castle. "I think the unicorns are here. We'll continue this discussion once Score and Helaine have woken up. They'll want to know about it, as well." 

"_OW!" _

Destiny doubled over with laughter, clutching her sides and near hysterics. She couldn't help it. The sight of Pixel having trouble conjuring up a simple flame of fire was just too much for her. He'd attempted this several times already, and each time had ended up with, well, less than pleasant results.

Pixel shoved his burned fingers into his mouth and gave her a wounded look. "Don't look at me that way," he said in a hurt tone. "This isn't like any other power I had. It's not just simple spells and such. Half the time I'm not even sure what I'm doing."

"And the other half you are?" teased Destiny. "Then you must just be the most unlucky person I've met." She smiled at him to show she was joking.

Pixel pulled his hand from his mouth and glared at the red skin. He sighed and stuck his hand in his pocket. "I think that's enough practice for now," he said. "I don't think my hand can take much more of this." 

"Maybe you should focus on an easier element," Destiny suggested. "One less painful if it goes wrong."

"Right," Pixel said sarcastically. "With water, I'll probably drown; air, I'll suffocate; and earth will caused a landslide on my head or something. The way my luck is running, it wouldn't surprise me. Let's just forget this practice thing and get back to the Trials." 

Destiny nodded. "The next one should be just half a mile from here. It's the Trial of Sight, remember?"

"The one in the cave?" Pixel asked. 

"Right," Destiny replied. "You know, this power of yours might come in handy. I'm sure a torch would get us through the cave in a cinch."

Pixel glared at her. The effects of the glare were lost, however, when both of their stomachs demanded attention before continuing on the journey. They blushed, and immediately decided that eating was going to be the next step in their travels. 

Destiny and Pixel managed to find an out-of-the-way place in the clearing that Pixel had been practicing in, and dug into the bag of food. "We're getting low," Destiny said, a hint of worry in her voice. "It's taken us longer to get around, with you practicing that power the Trial Master gave you." 

"Don't try and pin the blame on me!" Pixel exclaimed, taking a bite of the apple she handed him. "You thought it was as good an idea as I did, remember?" 

"True enough." Destiny bit into her own fruit and sighed. "Damn it, Pixel, something's not right." 

Pixel tilted his head to one sighed and looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're the first magic-user I've guided to get any help from the Trials, and other magic-users in the past have made if further than this before either giving up or getting killed. Not to mention the surprising lack of danger that we've been in." She sighed and tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Whatever luck we've been having can't be keeping up forever." 

"I know what you mean," Pixel said softly. "Sometimes, when we're walking, I'll get the strangest feeling that we're being followed, or watched, or something. And then, at the same time, I'll get this feeling that something is wrong. That something's happening that's effecting us, but I can't figure out what it is." He looked at her. "How much further do we have until the end of the Void?"

Destiny shook her head dismally. "You want the truth?"

"Yeah."

"We've got a long way to go. We've been here almost a week, now – Void time, since it runs on its own clock – and we should have been a lot further ahead," Destiny said. "Something isn't right, like you say." She took one last bite of her apple and threw the core on the ground in disgust. "And I don't have to slightest clue as to what it is." 

Score had the biggest headache possible when he finally woke up. He muttered obscenities to himself as he sat up, massaging his temples. "Turn down the lights!" he snarled. 

The lights in the room immediately dimmed, and he opened his eyes. "Oh." The light had been coming from the glowing horns of the unicorns, and the reason they had dimmed was because Thunder and the others had turned away from him and were pointing them towards Helaine. 

"What happened?" he asked, noticing Oracle and… "Shanara?"

"I'm just here in astral form," Shanara said. She and Oracle looked at him worriedly. "How do you feel?"

"Like I slept for about a thousand years," Score said. 

"Well, it wasn't quite for a thousand years, but I think we snapped you out of it just in time," replied Oracle. "You were under a spell by Chronos, Destiny's younger brother."

Score stared at him. "So it's really him? He's the guy who was after Pixel? Why did he come after Helaine and me?"

"To delay you," Shanara said. "It seems that his true target is really Pixel, because he seems to have a grudge against Nantor. While the unicorns were working on you, I did some checking around in my books, and it seems that Nantor might have been the one who recruited Destiny and Fate to the Triad's service." 

"So the grudge makes sense," Score murmured. He looked over at Helaine. "Why's it taking so long for her to wake up?"

"She's been under longer," replied Oracle. "But I think she's coming around now."

Sure enough, Helaine's eyes were beginning to open as the unicorns backed away and extinguished the rest of the negation power from their horns. *You might feel a little light-headed for awhile,* Flare said to Helaine apologetically as the young sorceress sat up, *since we ended up negating a good deal of your own magic as well. But at least you're okay.*

Helaine managed a tremulous smile at her unicorn friend, then looked over at Score. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Fine," Score replied. "You?"

She nodded. "What about Pixel?" She directed this question to Oracle and Shanara. 

*We'll head back to the herds,* Thunder said. *Contact us again if you need our help.*

"Wait," Shanara said, holding up one hand. "Thunder, please, stay. I think we're going to need your assistance."

Thunder looked at her uncertainly, then turned to Nova. *Go to the herdlands. I'll catch up to you.*

Nova snorted indignantly. *Pixel is my friend. I'll help him any way I can. Cloud can escort the others back, but I'm staying.*

*So am I!* Flare exclaimed. Dustdevil stepped just a little closer to Flame, showing that he would stay as well. 

*I'll make sure the others get back,* Cloud told Thunder. *Let us know if you need us later.* He turned towards the door, herding Moondust, Monsoon, and Orchid out in front of him. 

All eyes turned to Shanara, even Oracle's. "It was your idea," Oracle told her. 

"Actually, Blink came up with it," Shanara said, motioning to the astral projection of her familiar. 

"I did?" Blink asked in confusion.

"Well, you gave me the idea," Shanara amended. "It's nearly impossible to figure out when Pixel will reach the end of the Void, and at any rate, I've never heard of _anyone leaving the Void, so I don't know where the exit is."_

"You never knew the Void existed at all until Oracle told us," Helaine pointed out. 

"Right," Shanara agreed. "So since it could be months until Pixel finds his own way out, my idea was to go and get him ourselves." 

Everyone stared at her. "And how," Score said slowly, "are we supposed to do that, exactly?"

Thunder tapped his hoof impatiently. *You want me to show you the entrance, don't you?*

*The Void?!* Nova nickered nervously. *Thunder, that area is off-limits to everyone! We can't take them there.*

"I'm confused," Helaine and Score said together.

*Same here,* Dustdevil and Flame agreed. 

"Thunder mentioned to me earlier that he had been in the Void several times when he was younger," Oracle explained. "If he can show us how he got in, then we can go and get Pixel."

*You don't understand,* Thunder said. *I only know of this one entrance, and the chances of Pixel being in that immediate area are unlikely. You see, there is no true exit to the Void.*

Oracle narrowed his eyes at the unicorn. "What?"

*The Void is another dimension,* Thunder said. *While in it, magic-users are forced to undergo certain tests. There are two types - those designed to destroy, and those designed to give power. Once a magic-user gains enough power, they can open a breach between the Void and this world, and they can return. Once that happens, there is a permanent hole in the dimensional fold that separates the two worlds, and anyone can pass into the Void and vice-versa. But most try to avoid them.*

"_You didn't," Score pointed out._

Thunder cleared his throat anxiously. *Yes, well…I was very young.*

"And you survived to return," Shanara said. "That's why I want you to guide us into the Void, Thunder. You've been there before. You know your way around, which is more than the rest of us can say. If anyone can get us to Pixel, it's you."

*You did spend a lot of time there,* Nova agreed reluctantly. Then she looked at her husband indignantly. *But if you _do take them into it, I'm going as well.*_

*No,* Thunder said abruptly. 

*I want to go, too,* Flame added. 

"No!" Helaine protested loudly. "No one other than those who absolutely have to go should go! Everything we've heard about this place sounds ten times worse than Zarathan. We shouldn't risk more than necessary. Which is why only two of us should go."

"Two?" Score looked at her, startled. "You mean, Thunder and someone else?" 

"Right," Helaine said. "Either you or me. Not Oracle or Shanara, because we need them here."

Score frowned at her. "And how are we supposed to decide who will go?"

"We'll draw for it." Helaine stood up and went into the kitchen, returning a minute later with a box. "There are ten marbles in here," she said. "One of them is black. The rest are white. Whoever draws out the black marble will go. I'll draw first, and no magic, so gemstones on the table." 

Score narrowed his eyes. There was no way in hell he was going to let Helaine go into that Void - she'd been out longer than he had been, and he was still feeling tired. There wasn't time to replenish their strength, though. He removed his emerald – his real emerald – and his other three gems and placed them on the table next to Helaine's. 

Helaine reached into the box first, eyes closed, and removed a marble. She looked at it. "White," she said, biting her lip. She held the box out to Score. 

Score reached in and haphazardly selected a marble, tightening his fist around it. When he opened it, a single black marble lay in his palm. "Black," he said. "So Thunder and I will go." 

Thunder nodded. *We'll leave tomorrow. There are a few things I need to take care of if I'm going to take you into the area where the entrance is, and you should be much stronger by then.*

Score nodded in agreement, and the unicorns left. Oracle glanced at Score and frowned slightly, and Shanara did the same. Then both of them nodded slightly, and vanished. "Where are they going?" Helaine wondered. 

"Shanara can't keep astral projection going for very long, and Oracle probably went to Rahn," Score said bluntly. He stood up and faced her, crossing his arms over his chest. "I saw that look on your face when you got the white marble, Helaine. You were trying to get the black."

Helaine looked at him defiantly. "So? The Void is a dangerous place. I'm the best qualified person."

"And you were under that draining spell much longer than I was," Score said angrily. 

Realization dawned on Helaine's face, and she narrowed her eyes in anger. "You used magic!" she accused. "You changed the color of the marble! How? You didn't have your gemstones, and your powers were diminished because of the negation!" 

"Changing the color of a marble is kid's stuff for me," Score snapped. "I don't need to have much power to do that, or a gemstone. Did you forget that? But I wasn't about to let you go off and get yourself killed in that place! Anyway, you may be the best fighter, but I'm better at magic, and that's what is going to count in there." 

Helaine stood up and clenched her fists next to her sides. "You jerk!" she shouted. "You're going to get yourself killed!" 

"Maybe, maybe not," Score said, shrugging. "That's not what's important. What's important is that you were going to go in there and make it seem like you didn't have a choice about it…and that would have killed _me." _

She stared at him. 

"What, you didn't know that?" Score demanded. "I've pretty much already lost every shred of dignity that I had when I kissed you, Helaine. I love you. I _love you. Is that such a surprise to you?" _

Helaine felt her throat tighten at the sight of the raw emotion in Score's eyes. _He's telling the truth, she realized, stunned. __He really does love me. "How?" she whispered softly._

"Don't ask me," Score said, shaking his head. "I don't even know when it happened. All I know is, right now, as selfish as this may sound, I care more about what happens to you than about what happens to Pixel. I know the spell that was being negated, Helaine. You were out longer than me, you were much closer to dying than I was." 

Helaine sat back down on the couch and gripped the fabric of the cushions. "Stop it, Score," she said, looking down at the floor. "Stop teasing me. I'm not one of those girls that you go to see on Earth every couple of weeks. You can't just say a few pretty words and make me believe you. It doesn't work that way."

Score stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders. "I'm not teasing you," he growled, taking her chin in his hand and forcing her to look at him. "I'm not. Those girls – they were nothing special. I've been in denial over this for so long, I think I almost ruined my chances. I'm not running anymore. I love you, Helaine Votrin, and judging by the way you reacted when I kissed you earlier, you're not entirely opposed to the idea." 

Helaine pulled her head back, breaking his grip on her chin. "Don't presume to know how I feel," she snapped. 

Score arched an eyebrow impishly. "Oh?" he asked. "Then explain your reaction to _this." He removed his hands from her shoulders and placed them on her face, then moved forward and kissed her hard on the mouth._

Helaine's eyes fluttered closed instantly, and she began to respond a second later. She brought up her arms and wrapped them around his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair. Score moved his hands from her face and dropped them down to her waist, wrapping his arms around her tightly. 

He broke the kiss and looked at her, their foreheads still touching. "Well?" he asked huskily. 

Helaine was breathing heavily from the sudden, unexpected kiss. It had been ten times more passionate than its predecessor. "Don't do that again," she said shakily.

"Why?" Score murmured, moving close again to press his lips against hers. This time he slanted his mouth ever so slightly, and parted his lips to touch hers with his tongue. 

Helaine was surprised by the bold move, but allowed the kiss the deepen, heart pounding. _Stop this, a little voice in her mind said. __Don't do this. You're a warrior, not a maiden. You don't have time for something like this. _

She tugged on Score slightly, and he moved from leaning over her to sitting on the couch next to her. But now her back was twisted, so she swung her legs around so that she was facing him. Helaine gripped the fabric of his shirt tightly as he pulled her up against him.

They pulled apart again, both of them remembering that they needed to breathe. "Okay," Helaine consented. "You can do that again." 

Score laughed softly, tucking a piece of hair behind her hair. "Do you believe me now?" he asked. 

Helaine nodded, leaning against him. He leaned back so that he was lying on the couch and she was lying on him, and she could hear the sound of his heart beating rapidly in his chest. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "For trying to make it so that I'd go in." 

"I almost didn't realize that  you were using the enchanted marbles," Score said, stroking her hair. "The ones that turn out to be any color that you want. It took a lot of concentration to make them the _opposite color." _

"You don't have to go," Helaine said, sitting up and looking down at him. "Not if you don't want to."

"I _don't want to," Score admitted. "But I have to. I won, fair and square - well, as fair as it can be after I had to outsmart you - so tomorrow, Thunder and I will go into the Void to retrieve Pixel."_

"We can find another way," Helaine said. 

"No," Score said. "We can't. We're running out of time as it is. We know Chronos can get in here. You can put up some more barriers while I'm gone, and regain your strength for when Pixel and I get back. I have a feeling once we return, we're going to end up facing Chronos soon after."

"This is worse than before, isn't it?" Helaine asked. "Chronos doesn't just want to use us. He wants to literally kill us." 

"Yeah, looks like it," Score agreed. He pulled himself into a sitting position, and reached out to touch Helaine's face gently. "But we'll get through this. Once the three of us are together again, Chronos isn't going to stand a chance." 

"I'm scared," Helaine whispered. "I really am." 

"So am I," Score said softly. He leaned forward and kissed her again, softly this time. He only intended for it to be a brief, reassuring kiss for Helaine, but before he could pull away she threw her arms around his tightly and pushed him back onto the couch. The kiss lasted for nearly a minute before she pulled apart and pushed herself up so that she was leaning over him, her long hair falling around them like a blonde curtain. 

"I love you," she whispered softly. 

"I know," Score said, smiling tremulously. "Why do you think I got the courage to tell you?" 

"You're so infuriating sometimes," she said, but she laughed to take the sting out of the words. 

"Only sometimes?" Score murmured as he drew her down on top of him for another kiss. When they broke apart again, she rested her head on his shoulder and they just laid like that for awhile.

"We should get some rest," Score said. "Some real rest, this time. Upstairs. It's the best way to get our strength back." 

"Okay." Helaine sat up and stood, then gripped the side of the couch to stop herself from falling over. 

"Are you okay?" Score asked, wrapping an arm around her waist to prevent her from falling. 

"Just a little dizzy," Helaine said. 

"Let me help you to your room," Score offered. Helaine would have protested, but she knew that it would be safer that way. A few minutes later, Score had gotten her to her suite of rooms, and had her pressed against the door in another kiss. "I should go," he said, releasing her and stepping back. 

Helaine gripped his shirt tighter. "No," she said, shaking her head. "Stay."

Score looked at her, wide-eyed. 

"Please," Helaine said as she pulled him closer and drew him down for another kiss. "Please stay." 

So Score stayed. 


	12. Theories of Life and Death

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter Twelve: Theories of Life and Death**

Something was wrong. 

Pixel woke up and knew instantly that something was dangerously wrong. "Destiny," he whispered urgently, shaking her by the shoulder to wake her up. "Destiny, get up. We have to get out of here."

Destiny opened her eyes and looked at him, frowning. "What is it?" she asked. 

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "But something is wrong. I just feel it. There's a power imbalance or something." 

She stared at him uncertainly, then bit her lip. "I don't feel anything."

It was getting harder for Pixel to focus - he knew, _knew without a shred of doubt, that something was wrong. There was an imbalance in his own personal power - not the power the Void had granted him, but his original inbred power. "My power," he said, his voice pleading. "Destiny, something is wrong. It's…it's fading. I can feel it." _

Destiny could see that Pixel was nearing the edge of panic, and swore to herself. She grabbed his shoulders and forced him to lie down. "Stop," she said, leaning over him and staring straight into his eyes. "Relax. Rest." 

Pixel's eyes closed almost immediately, and Destiny breathed a sigh of relief. Then she stood up and stared down at him, taking deep, even breaths until she was completely focused. Only then did she close her eyes, and when they opened again she could clearly see Pixel's aura. 

_Gods! she gasped. Pixel's aura was as red as the ruby that bore his soul, the gem that was totally connected to his life energy, just as the amethyst had been for her. But there were threads of blue and green that ran through it, a connection to Score and Helaine showing that they were a Triad of power. Destiny had once seen a similar aura around Nantor when she was in the Triad's service, although that had been a long time ago, and his aura had also been extremely corrupt. _

Pixel, Destiny suspected, didn't yet know the finer points of aura reading. For Destiny, she had found that it was the best way to determine the truth about someone. And what Pixel's aura was showing right now was that the feeling he had been experiencing hadn't been a lie - his power _was fading. _

Or, rather, the connection was. 

Destiny banished her aura sight and groaned. Part of the purpose of joining magic-user souls together was so that they could lend each other power - forming a magical connection was a tricky thing, and sometimes only possible through a soul connection. Such was the connection Score, Helaine, and Pixel shared, allowing each to borrow strength from the others and to use strength to aid them. 

The downside, however, was that the longer the connection lasted, the more important the _balance of the power became. If, for example, one member of the connection died, then the other two would begin to feel its loss. They would feel as if something were always missing - even if they hadn't seen the dead soul in ages. But that was just one example. The power balance could shift in other ways - and Destiny could suspect what it was. _

Outside of the Void, something had happened between Score and Helaine that was drawing them closer together - and binding their souls in a tighter bond than the connection of power. Since there was only so much to a soul, the tighter the bond between Score and Helaine, the looser the bond between those two and Pixel. 

Destiny had seen something like this happen only once before, and had seen the suffering that the third member of the connection had suffered. The feelings of loneliness, of abandonment, of having lost something impossible to retrieve had proved too much for the seasoned sorcerer, and he had taken his own life. 

Damned if she would let that happen to Pixel!

Destiny took a few more deep breaths and reopened her aural sight, refocusing on Pixel. The lines of blue and green were already beginning to fade - they would not disappear entirely, but it was enough to already leave a couple of tears in the red. Without those pieces of Helaine and Score, Pixel would begin to lose some of the power that he unconsciously drew from them. _Is that why the Void gave him the additional power - so that he wouldn't be helpless? Did they know this was going to happen to him? Is there anything I can do to stop it? She had the sinking suspicion that she knew what had happened between Score and Helaine, just given what she had observed four years earlier. Granted, four years was a long time - but time didn't necessarily mean anything in these cases. _

She needed to solve this problem, and fast. And she was going to need Pixel's help to do it, which meant telling him her theory, and having him face a painful reality without truly knowing all the facts. She couldn't do that to him. She needed to know everything first. 

And then, in a flash, she remembered the mysterious man who had appeared on Earth to give the three aid - what had his name been? Recalling him now, she knew that he had all the makings of being a guardian - and if she could just remember him…

Oracle! 

Yes, she was positive that was his name. She smiled, and banished her aural sight once more. "Well, Oracle, let's see if you can give me some advice." She pictured his flickering form, his black clothes, closed her eyes and whispered the words of the calling spell. Even in death, after all, she was still a magic-user. 

When the shocked cry echoed the dim shelter that she and Pixel had made for the night, Destiny lunged forward and covered his mouth with her hand. "Shut up," she hissed to Oracle. "Come with me outside. We need to talk." 

Oracle narrowed her eyes at her, then widened them in recognition - and then in amazement when he realized that she had actually touched him, and she hadn't gone through him. 

"In this realm, you're as flesh and blood as I am," Destiny whispered. "We don't have much time before the Omnipotent get you out of here, and I need to talk to you away from _him." She nodded to Pixel. Oracle stared at him, relief evident in his eyes. Then he swiftly followed Destiny out of the shelter and into the meadow outside. _

Under the light of the full moon (the only type of moon to Void had, for the benefit of weres), Oracle turned to look at Destiny. "What's going on here?" he demanded. "Is Pixel okay?"

"He's just been sleep-spelled," Destiny said. "He was panicking, Oracle. He woke up not long ago, and said that he could feel his power draining. I checked his aura - and he's right. He's losing his connection to Score and Helaine."

Oracle opened his mouth to say something - and stopped. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," Destiny said. "Has anything happened between those two that would make their connection stronger than Pixel's? Something that would leave him out?" 

The guardian looked worried. "I…I can't be certain, but I think Score and Helaine have been getting closer. Romantically, I mean."

Destiny groaned. "I was afraid of that. And for Pixel to suddenly be feeling the strain, they must have just gotten much closer in a short period of time." She rubbed the bridge of her nose in aggravation. 

"You're his guide?" Oracle asked. 

"Yeah," Destiny said, shaking her head ruefully. "Surprise, surprise." 

"If you could call me, why didn't you do it earlier?" Oracle demanded.

"I only saw you _once, forgive me if I didn't record it into my memory," Destiny said, rolling her eyes. "And Pixel's power was nil since he got here - his offensive power. And now the power that makes him a magic-user is being drained because of this damned connection." She looked at him pleadingly. "If you know anything, __anything, that I can do to stop it, you have to tell me. I need him strengthened enough to get through the Void. We're nowhere near the end."_

"There is no end," Oracle replied. He outlined everything that Thunder had told them about the Void just hours earlier at the castle. 

Destiny opened her aural sight, and knew immediately that he wasn't lying. "I don't believe it," she said, shaking with bridled fury. "The Omnipotent never told us anything about that! If that's the case, then hundreds of magic-users have died in the Void for a meaningless quest! Pixel has already gained some power," she told him.

Oracle looked cheered by that. "Excellent," he said. "Then I'll tell you something else - Thunder, one of the unicorns that has befriended the three, knows of an entrance to the Void from Dondar. He and Score will be arriving through it shortly, in our time. If you could try and find them, that would make our job much easier." 

Destiny was about to agree, when suddenly she stopped. "I don't know if Pixel's going to be able to travel," she said soberly. "He's losing power fast. His aura is beginning to tear. Score and Helaine are going to have to stop doing what they're doing and go no further, at least until we can figure something out for Pixel." 

"I'll talk to Shanara," Oracle promised. "The most important thing is that we get you and Pixel out of here."

"I don't know if I can leave," Destiny said, more to herself and to Oracle. But when she looked up to ask if he had heard of any guide leaving the Void, she saw that he was gone. "Damn. The Omnipotent found him." 

Sighing, she hurried back into the shelter. She was going to have to find some way to get to Score and the unicorn Thunder, and it was going to have to be soon.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!" shouted Oracle.

Helaine and Score woke up instantly, and Helaine immediately grabbed the blankets and wrapped them around herself. "What are you doing in here?" she demanded, more embarrassed than angry.

Score sat up and glared at Oracle. "Yeah, what's your problem, Oracle?" he asked. 

Oracle just shook his head and groaned. He could see their auras perfectly, and knew instantly that Destiny hadn't been making anything up. Helaine's blue aura had much more green in it than red, and Score's green was complimented by blue with just a few traces of red. Pixel was vanishing.

"Whatever you're doing, stop," Oracle commanded. "You can't let this thing go on any further."

Score and Helaine glanced at each other. "Uh, I think we were done awhile ago," Score said sheepishly. "We were just getting some sleep."

Oracle had the grace to blush, but he glared at Score. "I mean, no more of _this. You two are going to have to stop any romantic urges between you, and do it __now."_

"I really don't think this is any of your business," Helaine said coldly. 

"It is when it's killing Pixel," Oracle retorted. 

They paled. "What?" Score whispered. 

"I just came from a very interesting meeting in the Void," Oracle said. "Pixel's guide finally thought of the bright idea of calling me there, and before the Omnipotent dragged me out, she told me that Pixel is feeling a power imbalance. I bet you didn't know that the three of you were connected by your souls, did you?"

Numb, they shook their heads. 

"It's what makes you such great magic-users, and friends, too," Oracle went on. "This of each of you individually as one-third of a greater power. When you lose part of the triangle, the entire balance is damaged. By becoming involved with one another, your souls were binding together much more than previously - and leaving Pixel out. You were pulling away from him, even if you didn't mean to, and he could feel it. He's losing power that he was born with, power that makes him what he is. It's a good thing Destiny contacted me, or we could've had a disaster on our hands. This is why the original Triad kept their relationships purely platonic." 

"Destiny?" Score asked sharply. "What's she got to do with anything?"

"She's Pixel's guide in the Void," snapped Oracle. "And in a couple of hours, you and Thunder are going to have to find her. I'm going to Shanara's right now to get the information for a locator spell that you can use, since you've already seen her. While I'm gone, I want you to get moving to the unicorn herd. And Helaine, you're staying here."

Helaine stared to protest, but Oracle's glare cut her off. "This is serious, you two. I don't care what your personal feelings are - this can't go on until we figure out something with  Pixel. He's unconscious right now, but that's only delaying the drain. We're lucky Destiny was trained with aural sight, or we could've ended up with a _dead Pixel." With those words, he vanished, on his way to Rawn. _

Score gazed miserably at the floor, then sighed and got up. "Where are you going?" Helaine asked. 

"To the herds," Score replied. "You heard what Oracle said - we're killing Pixel. I have to leave immediately."

"But…why?" Helaine asked, confused. "Why _immediately? So we just won't go any further - we can't be much further than this, anyway." _

"It'll still have an effect on Pixel," Score said. "Could you really live with this, knowing what it's doing to him?"

He had her there - Helaine knew she couldn't. Pixel meant just as much to her as Score did, although more as a brother than a  lover. "This is a nightmare," she groaned, covering her face with her hands.

"It is," Score agreed, pulling his shirt over his head. He checked his jeans to make sure his gemstones were still in his pockets, and looked at her. "I'll be back soon," he said. He stepped forward, moving to kiss her…and stopped. "'Bye," he said after a moment. 

Helaine watched him leave, then flopped back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. _Will this ever end? she thought angrily. __Why is this all happening to us, now? _

"Why indeed. After all, you never did anything to deserve this, did you? You're just the innocent little backstabbing bitch, aren't you, Eremin?"

Helaine gasped and sat up, looking around angrily. "Who are you?" she shouted. "Where are you?" 

From behind her, a pair of arms came out of the wall and wrapped around her, pulling her up against the wall. Helaine struggled angrily, until it became evident that the owner of the arms wasn't going to hurt her. 

"Did you forget that I can come into your castle any time I want?" 

"Chronos!" Helaine spat. 

The arms disappeared, releasing her, and the magic-user materialized before her. "In the flesh," Chronos said, giving her a mocking bow. "So good to see you again, Eremin. You're looking awfully well."

Suddenly remembering her state of undress, Helaine gripped the blankets around her tighter, and stood from the bed, dragging them with her. "Bastard," she snarled. "You're the one who took Pixel from us, aren't you!" 

"But of course," Chronos said, smirking. "Surely you know the reason. That arrogant bastard deserves what he gets. You should've thought about that before reducing yourselves to children - there are plenty people who want you dead, and it's so much easier when you aren't at your full power." 

_He really thinks I'm Eremin, Helaine realized. __He really is crazy. She stared at him, seeing the family resemblance between himself and Destiny. Both were of Asian descent, obviously, and Chronos looked to be in his late-twenties, although it was probably magic that kept him looking so young. He also had the same psychotic look in his eyes that Destiny had worn, only much, much more controlled. _

It was that control that scared her. 

Chronos suddenly snapped his fingers, and Helaine found herself fully dressed - minus her sword, of course. "The least you could do is give me my weapon," she sneered. 

"I'm sure you could do just fine with your magic," Chronos replied. "You always were the strong one, Eremin. Not as strong as Nantor, granted - but that ruby of yours certainly gives you power." 

Helaine paused. _Ruby? But Pixel is the one with the Ruby. But at that moment, before she could think anymore about it, Chronos struck. _

Helaine sensed the danger before it actually happened, and threw herself to the side just in time to miss being zapped by a lightning bolt. She hit her bed, rolled over to the side, and threw out her arm, using her levitation power to call her sword to her. The weapon came to her at once, and she sighed with relief - and lunged for the door that Score had left open just before another lightning strike hit where she'd been. 

Helaine stumbled out into the hallway and used her sapphire the slam the door shut, then formed an invisible barrier around it. Hoping it would hold long enough, she ran for the stairs - and heard Chronos laugh behind her. 

"Barriers can't hold me, Eremin!" 

_Damn! The voice was coming from the stairs - he must have transported himself there. To be able to do that - it took incredible power. She looked around wildly for some escape, and caught sight of a window just a few feet away from her. _

"You're trapped, Eremin," Chronos said from the top of the stairs. 

Helaine stepped over towards the window. "Don't underestimate me, Chronos," she said threateningly. 

"You wouldn't dare," Chronos said with assurance. 

She removed one gemstone from her pocket and held it up for him to see. "Just try me." Focusing, she summoned the power - and the wall directly behind Chronos broke apart to come crashing down on him. Without bothering to see if he was distracted or not, she lunged for the window and threw all of her weight into it, crashing through the glass. 

When the dust from the fallen wall cleared, Chronos ran to the window and looked down. "DAMN IT!" he shouted. There, lying three stories below, was the glass from the window and the still form of Helaine. "All that power, wasted!" Cursing to himself, Chronos pounded his fist on the windowsill. _I didn't think she'd do it, he thought. __Eremin never used to give up so easily. He shook his head and vanished. _

A few minutes went by, and then the body on the ground faded away as the illusionary magic vanished. "Thank God for quick spellcasting," Helaine said as she levitated herself to the ground. "And the fact that he didn't know I had a sapphire." She frowned. "Though why he thought I would have the ruby is beyond me." She glanced behind her at the broken window. _I don't care what Oracle said - I need to get to Score and warn him that Chronos is on the move. _

Flame watched with mixed feelings as her father and Score disappeared into the Void, and sighed. _Be careful, you two, she thought silently to herself. _

"Flame!" 

The white unicorn turned around to see Helaine sprinting towards her. *Helaine!* she exclaimed. *Score said you wouldn't be coming.*

"I'm not supposed to," Helaine said. "Is Oracle here?"

*He was, but he left,* Nova replied, joining them. *He went back to Rawn, I think.*

"Have Score and Thunder already left?" Helaine asked. 

*Just a minute ago,* Flame replied.

Helaine cursed softly, and bit her lip. "Damn. I was hoping to catch them. Listen, when they get back, tell them that I'm on Rawn. They_ can't  go back to the castle - it's not safe. I just had an unwelcome encounter with Chronos there."_

*What?!* Flame and Nova exclaimed, shocked. 

"He thinks I'm dead, but he'll probably realize that he's been tricked as soon as he thinks to check," Helaine replied. 

*Of course we'll tell them,* Nova promised. *How soon will you leave?*

Helaine was already flipping through the Book of Magic, which she had taken just enough time to grab before leaving the castle. She located the Portal spell, and quickly cast it. "Right now," she said. "Be careful, you two. He might come after the herd if he knows about our friendship." 

*Okay,* the two said as Helaine stepped through the Portal. 

Shanara listened to Oracle seriously. "So it's true?" she asked. "The connection really is unbalanced?" 

"Right," Oralcle sighed. "But I checked Score's aura just before he went into the Void. He's completely focused on Pixel right now, although it's a big strain for him, as he desperately wants to think about Helaine, too. But the total focus is giving a little bit of strength back to his connection with Pixel. If we're lucky, we can keep it going until we figure out some way to sustain Pixel."

"You're not going to insist that Score and Helaine not see each other?" Shanara asked, frowning. "That's usually the best thing to do in these cases."

"They've already become intimate," Oracle replied. "Forbidding them would just cause the same imbalance between _their souls - no, the only thing to do is find another way to sustain Pixel, to make up for the lack of Score and Helaine. I was hoping you could figure out something." _

Shanara sighed and stroked Blink's fur absently. "Unfortunately, I don't know much about connections," she said. "Most of what I do know are nothing more than theories."

"Theories seem to be our strong point right now," Oracle said. 

"It would help if I could talk to Destiny," Shanara added. "It sounds like she knows something about this. Is there anyway for you to contact her again?"

"She contacted _me, first of all. Second, the Omnipotent are probably keeping an eye on my travels now. They wouldn't let me back into the Void even if I could get there. It was only possible the first time because Destiny called me." Oracle massaged his temples. "This whole thing is giving me a headache."_

"I'm sure," Shanara said, rolling her eyes. She brushed her currently purple hair back away from her face and looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Okay. Here's a theory. And it's just a theory."

"I like your theories," Oracle said truthfully.

"What if we made a connection between Pixel and another magic-user - someone outside of the Triad?" Shanara suggested. "Someone to fill the gaps that Score and Helaine are leaving in him." 

"Can we do that?" Oracle asked. 

"In theory," Shanara said. "Although connections are usually made in groups of threes, I have heard of some cases where it's just a double connection."

"But Pixel is already connected, to Score and Helaine," Oracle said. "Would he even be able to form a connection with another magic-user?"

"I don't know," Shanara said, shaking her head. Then she bit her lip. "There _is another option, though. And it would definitely work - but it's pretty drastic."_

"What?" 

"Cut Pixel off from Score and Helaine entirely," Shanara said. 

Blink and Oracle stared at her in shock. "Destroy the Triad?" Blink whispered. "Could we do that?" 

"What would that do to their power?" Oracle asked. 

"It would cut it down," Shanara admitted. "It would leave Score and Helaine bound together, but with their reinforced connection through their feelings, they'd be able to survive. Pixel, however, would need to be bound to another magic-user almost immediately to live. At least, to live on Dondar." 

"Why?" Oracle asked. He didn't know much about the effects of connections.

"The reason Score, Helaine, and Pixel are so strong is because they share power," Blink explained. "They were connected since before they were born - it's because of that connection that they were also able to defeat the original Triad." 

"Natural-born bonds - bonds created from the time of birth - are hard to come by," Shanara added. "The Triad were _not naturally bonded, so their bond was weaker than the bonds our Triad have. If Pixel were separated from Score and Helaine, he would most likely be brought down several levels, and would be at his own personal magic level - and if I'm correct, he'd probably only be able to move as far as Treen."_

"I don't understand," Oracle said, shaking his head. "Why would he go down so far?"

"Pixel doesn't hold as much magical power as Score and Helaine," Shanara said. "You had to have noticed - Pixel relies more on logic than magic to get himself out of situations. Score is much more talented with magic, and when Helaine's warrior-mind isn't running the show, she can almost match him. Those two, staying connected, could still remain on the Inner Circuit, but Pixel would have to retreat to the Outer Circuit." 

"So he'd need to be bound to another magic-user that had enough power to keep him on Dondar," Oracle said. "Could you do it, Shanara?"

"I could, but it'd be stressful," replied Shanara. "My power only gets me as far as Rawn. I'd have to relocate to Dondar to keep the levels up, and while I'd love to go there, it would put too much stress on myself and Pixel." She bit her lip. "What about…well, this may sound crazy, but what about Destiny?" 

"You're right," Oracle said, nodding. "That does sound crazy. Pixel might go for it, but there's not way Score and Helaine would. You should have seen their faces when I told them Destiny was Pixel's guide." 

"Have you both forgotten something else important?" Blink demanded.

Oracle and Shanara looked at him. 

"You _can't separate the Triad!" Blink exclaimed. "You might as well be destroying the Diadem! Separating their power would mean they'd __all lose power, and their levels would be somewhat different, even if it wasn't drastic in Score and Helaine's cases. It would effect the Diadem analog on Jewel, and the Diadem would begin to disintegrate again." _

"That's right," Oracle groaned. "To seal in the spirits of Traxis, Nantor, and Eremin, they left a bit of their power there. If they died, it'd be one thing - but if their power levels were to actually change, it'd disrupt everything. So separating Pixel from Score and Helaine wouldn't work because it'd effect all of them, and likewise adding another magic-user to Pixel wouldn't work because it'd effect Pixel's level." 

"So that leaves us at point zero," Shanara said dejectedly.

At that moment, a Portal appeared in the middle of the room, and Helaine stumbled through. 

"Helaine?"

She looked at them. "Chronos," she said, "is stark-raving _mad."   _


	13. Dire Consequences

**Book of Darkness**

**Chapter Thirteen: Dire Consequences**

Score and Thunder emerged into the Void, and immediately wished that they hadn't. 

"Damn," breathed Score as he looked around the dark nightmare that stretched out around them. "It looks normal enough, but…"

*But there's an aura of _wrongness,* Thunder finished, nodding his head. *And it's dangerous, as well. I think it would be a fine idea for you to use that locator spell Oracle showed you.*_

Score nodded and closed his eyes, focusing. _Sej e il. He repeated the words over and over again in his mind, the entire time keeping an image of Pixel in his mind. _

Nothing. 

"It's not working," growled Score. "I can't pick up Pixel."

*What about Destiny?* Thunder asked. *Can you find her?*

Score sighed. "I'll try." _Sej e il. Once again, he spoke the words in his mind, this time conjuring up the image of the psychotic sorceress who had tried to kill him and Pixel both. This time he felt the sensation of the magic taking effect, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a bright white line shooting off to the left. "Great," he said with relief. "And I should be able to use the same spell to get us back to the entrance."_

*Which way?* Thunder asked. *I can't see the effects of the spell.*

"Left," Score said. "Straight left."

The unicorn turned to the left and began walking sedately. "Could you pick up the pace a little?" Score demanded. "We don't have forever. Oracle said time ran differently in the Void."

Thunder sighed. *If this weren't to find Pixel, I'd make you get off and walk,* he grumbled. *Then we'd see how much faster you'd want me to go.* Shaking his head - and smacking Score in the face with his mane - Thunder took off at a fast-paced gallop.

It became obvious very quickly that while the line pointing to Destiny and Pixel was straight, it did not follow a conceivable path. They ended up having to take some very winding paths, and it was a strain at times for Score to keep an eye on the line. At the speed Thunder was going (and unicorn's gallop was about twice as fast as a normal horse's), Score had to shout directions almost before he had time to think about them. He kept his hands tangled in Thunder's mane and his legs gripped the unicorn's sides as best as they could to keep his balance, and then, suddenly, the line stopped in the middle of a clearing.

Thunder pulled up sharply, and Score almost tumbled over his head. "I didn't expect you to stop _that fast!" Score snapped as he slid off Thunder's back. He looked around the seemingly deserted clearing. "Hello?" _

"Score?"

Score drew in a sharp breath at the familiar voice, and looked around again. "Destiny?" 

Off to the side of the clearing, the air wavered, and whatever masking spell Destiny had put up vanished. It revealed a make-shift shelter that the sorceress was sitting in front of, and inside the shelter lay the sleeping form of Pixel.

"Pixel!" Score shouted, dashing forward. He was only a few feet away from him when Destiny suddenly grabbed his arms and hauled him back several paces. "What the hell are you doing?!" he demanded angrily.

"Don't touch him!" Destiny snapped. "I put a stasis barrier around him, to stop him from losing too much power. There's still an imbalance, and I can't risk _you breaking the barrier just because you're happy to see him!"_

"You have some nerve telling me what to do!" Score retorted, yanking his arms out of Destiny's grasp. "After what you did to us!"

"That was four years ago!" Destiny shot back. "Being dead puts some perspectives on things. But there's no time to go into that - we need to get out, and we need to get out _now! Before __they show up."_

"They?" The urgency in Destiny's voice made Score's anger almost completely vanish. "They who?"

"The Omnipotent," Destiny replied, dropping her voice. "They're royally pissed because I dragged Oracle here. They know that I know the secret of the Void now - how there is no end, and the pilgrimages are useless. I don't know exactly what they want, but it has to do with Pixel, and if we don't get out of here soon they'll come for him. Why do you think I made it impossible to track him?"

"You've…you've been protecting him?" Score frowned. "That doesn't sound like you."

"Like I said, being dead give you a knew outlook on things," Destiny replied. "Now enough yapping - get your unicorn over here so I can get Pixel onto his back."

Thunder snorted indignantly as he trotted over. *I'm not _his unicorn,* he said with a toss of his head._

"Thunder, now is not the time," Score said, putting a hand on the unicorn's satin neck. 

Destiny crouched down next to Pixel and murmured to herself softly, a spell that Score couldn't quite make out. As she approached them again, this time with Pixel floating behind her, she looked at him ruefully. "I'm not supposed to use magic in the Void," she said to Score, "but I think the rules have pretty much flown out the window now. I'll do anything I need to do to get this guy out of here."

Together, without Score actually managing to touch his friend, the two of them managed to get Pixel secure on Thunder's back. Destiny pulled herself up so that she was sitting against Pixel, and Score mounted behind her. "Can you handle us, Thunder?" he asked.

*A little late to ask, don't you think?* Thunder grumbled. *Is he okay?*

"He's fine," Destiny said, wrapping an arm around Pixel to keep him from sliding off. "He'll probably be really angry with me for knocking him out later, but hey, if we survive this he can be as angry as he wants."

"Here, here," Score muttered. He quickly cast the locator spell for the exit. "Let's go, Thunder."

Thunder shot straight into a canter, the fastest that he could go while carrying three people, which was more than fast enough. Score shouted out the directions, and Destiny continued to recast the stasis barrier around Pixel whenever the old one began to wear down. 

Then they were there. The open exit to the Void was directly in front of them, and they could see the unicorn fields on the other side. Thunder roared into a gallop, racing towards it at lightning speed.

Score didn't know how it had happened. One minute she was there, the next she wasn't. 

Destiny disappeared into thin air, and Thunder sailed through the exit with two sorcerers instead of three.

Shanara put a comforting arm around Helaine's shoulders. "But you're all right?" she asked, making absolutely certain that Helaine was telling her the truth. "He didn't hurt you?"

"No," Helaine said, shaking her head. "He didn't hurt me. But I'll tell you - I really hope I get a chance to go after this guy, because when I do, I'm going to make sure he feels the pain for a long, _long time." She narrowed her blue eyes into small slits. "__No one talks to me like that."_

Oracle looked grim. "You did the right thing, coming here instead of staying at the castle. But going after Score was risky."

Helaine tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder and looked at him indignantly. "I had to warn him," she said. "As it turns out, I didn't even see him. With luck, Flame and Nova will tell him to come here once they get back. And then we can go after Chronos."

Shanara shook her head. "Um…no. That's not the first thing we have to do."

Helaine glanced at her. 

"Pixel?" Shanara reminded her. "He needs to be stabilized before we can do anything." 

She bit her lip. "Oh, yeah," Helaine said softly.

At that moment, a huge rip appeared in space, and two figures fell out of it. One immediately started cursing the bumpy landing, the other didn't say anything at all since he was still unconscious. 

"Score!" Helaine exclaimed, rising out of her seat. "Pixel!" 

Score hauled himself to his feet and gave her a brisk nod, then looked at Shanara. "Do something for him. Now. Destiny put him in some sort of stasis to protect him, but she's gone and I don't know the spell. She was casting it a lot on our way to the exit, so it's not a long-lasting treatment." 

Shanara knelt next to the prone boy and touched his forehead softly. "Okay. I know what she did, and I can manage a quick-fix - but it won't be final." She looked up at Score. "Where's Destiny?"

"She disappeared just before we escaped," Score said grimly. "She said something about the Omnipotent being after them, so we had to move quickly - she was there, and then she wasn't, and there wasn't anytime to do anything about it."

Oracle let out a string of curses that caused Score and Helaine both to looked at him in amazement. Shanara didn't because she was already weaving a spell over Pixel, an expression of concentration, worry, and fear on her face. 

"You know something?" Helaine asked.

"The Omnipotent," Oracle growled. "Somehow I forgot all about them in this mess. They were the ones who devised the journey through the Void in the first place. They kept the real way to escape to themselves, and sent countless magic-users on death quests. The few who made it, the magic-user _and their guide both escaped from the Void. Yet the Omnipotent have taken Destiny." He clenched his fists. "Shanara, take care of things here. I'll be back." _

"Where are you going?" Helaine asked, but her words fell on no ears as Oracle vanished. She sighed and looked back at Shanara. 

"Almost there," Shanara muttered. A few minutes later, she sighed and stepped back. "Now it's only a matter of time to see if it works." 

Oracle looked around the spacious Inter-Realm. "I know you're there!" he shouted, clenching his fists so hard, he nearly drew blood. "Come out!"

The air seemed to open up in front of him, and the golden image of the Omnipotent stepped out from nothingness. "Ah. Oracle, is it?"

"You know perfectly well it is," Oracle snapped. "What the hell is your game? Where's Destiny?"

"The guide has been returned to the afterlife."

"Why?!" Oracle demanded. "She succeeded in guiding Pixel to the exit. She deserves her reward!" 

The Omnipotent frowned. "She did not succeed," he said. "The rules state that the guide must lead the magic-user to the exit _on her own. She had help."_

"Where in the rules does it say _that?" Oracle shouted. Then he shook his head. "Never mind. I can't expect you to actually have those so-called rules written down. Okay. Fine. Let's leave the subject of Destiny for now. What about the fact that you've been lying to the magic-users you pull into the Inter-Realm? You never told them the __real way of getting out of the Void!"_

"Real way?" The Omnipotent looked surprised. "What _real way? There is only one way. Travel through the Void on a journey, defeat the tests, and find the exit. Of course, the exit is different for each magic-user."_

Oracle was beginning to see red. "So that's it, then? You tell the truth - but not the _whole truth? What about the fact that to find the exit, all the magic-user has to do is gain enough power through the specialized trials? You don't tell them that there are two types of trials, do you? __Do you?!"_

"The specialized trials are dangerous," the Omnipotent said flatly. "Many magic-users who take part in them die. They are to be stayed away from."

"You're _impossible!" Oracle shouted, wishing he could throw something at them. But unlike him, who was a flesh and blood in the Inter-Realm, they weren't. No one was sure __what the Omnipotent were. _

Oracle took several deep breaths to try and calm himself down. "Just one more thing," he said stiffly. "Why Pixel? Why did you want Pixel?"

"The Wizard of Sight can not be allowed to fall into his hands," the Omnipotent replied. "His ties to the Diadem are too great. The only safety for the Diadem is to seal him away, where he can never be touched." 

Oracle's mouth dropped open in surprise. "You…then…you _bastards!" he shouted. "He's a human being!"_

"He is a means to an end," was the reply.

"Perhaps," Oracle said, his voice dropping several notches in volume and taking on a dangerous edge. "But you'll never get him. I'll make sure of that."

"Have you forgotten who you work for?" the Omnipotent demanded sharply.

"No," Oracle replied. "The minute the spell was uttered, I worked for the Triad and the Triad only. I hold their best interests in my heart. And their best interests, might I add, are not for _you to use them like some sort of toy." He glared at the Omnipotent. "This conversation is finished for now - but I'll be back. There's still the subject of Destiny." _

Oracle vanished, leaving the Inter-Realm behind and the Omnipotent staring after him.

_Several hours later…_

Shanara's castle was dead quiet, with only the sounds of soft breathing filtering through the stone corridors. At the table in Shanara's scrying chamber, all three magic-users were fast asleep, their heads resting on their folded arms. Nearby, Blink was also sleeping (although this wasn't unusual for him). 

For some reason he wasn't quite sure of, Score opened his eyes and straightened up, massaging his neck where he was stiff from the position he'd been in. He stifled a yawn, and then heard something move behind him. He spun around, ready to defend himself if necessary. 

Instead, his eyes widened as he took in the sight of Pixel sitting up on the couch he'd been lying on, looking around in confusion. "How did I get here?" he asked. 

"Pixel!" Score practically threw himself at his friend, squeezing him tightly. 

"Score, Score, I can't breathe!" Pixel managed to gasp out. Score immediately released his hold, and Pixel drew in a couple of deep breaths. "You're stronger than you know."

"How long have you been awake?" Score asked eagerly. "How do you feel? Are you okay?"

Pixel blinked at him. "Um…five minutes, fine, and I guess so. Those are the answers to your questions in order. What happened?"

"Thunder and I pulled you out of the Void," Score replied. "You weren't in very good shape, but Shanara can explain it better." Score glanced back at the table, and saw that both Shanara and Helaine were beginning to wake up from their naps. "We've been so worried about you, Pixel!" 

"Nice to know I've been missed," Pixel joked as both sorceresses hurried over to him. Helaine gave him her own hug in greeting, and Shanara placed her hand against his forehead to make sure that he wasn't running a fever or anything.

"Good," she said with relief. "You seem to be back to one-hundred-percent."

"What did you do?" Pixel asked in wonderment. "It felt like I was being torn apart from the inside before, but now I'm fine." 

Shanara looked slightly pained. "First of all, it's only a temporary fix. What I did was form a connection with you - I'm sharing some of my power with you, and  you're doing the same thing. Right now it's not that much - just enough to make it so you don't feel like someone's ripping you apart. Your powers are going to be extremely limited, however - and you can't return to Dondar right now."

The three looked at her in surprise. "Why not?" Helaine demanded. 

"Because _I can't go to Dondar," Shanara replied. "The magic level there is too high. And Pixel needs to remain on the same Circuit as me to keep the power level steady. You see…if your powers were to fluctuate beyond their normal levels, you could end up disrupting the entire Diadem again. It all has to do with the bits of power you left behind on Jewel when you sealed away the Triad."_

Pixel bit his lip. "So, if this is just a temporary fix - what's the permanent solution?" 

"To keep all of you level, and yet connected at the same time, we're going to have to introduce a fourth magic-user into your group," Shanara replied. "It'll have to be someone  you _all trust, and someone with power levels to match your own. He or she will then have to be connected to all three of you, not just Pixel. That way, Score and Helaine's power levels won't change dramatically, and Pixel's, who's levels will be balanced out, will be able to depend on the fourth magic-user for sustenance in the connection." She looked at the blank faces on the three in front of you. "Is any of this making any sense?" _

Score and Helaine shook their heads, but Pixel nodded hesitantly. "A little," he said. "I'm sure I'll understand it eventually - I just need a little time to think about it." Then he frowned. "Okay, next question. What in the world started all of this? I have a feeling you know better than I do."

"Do we ever," Helaine said, shaking her head ruefully. "It all has to do with the man who tried to kidnap you. His name is Chronos." 

"Get this – he's Destiny's younger brother," Score added. "Apparently the guy was so distraught over the fact that the Triad took not one but two of his sisters - the other one was Fate, she was the one that died on Zarathan - that he became _obsessed with them. Especially Nantor."_

"Nantor was the one that Destiny and Fate worked for," Shanara clarified, "so Chronos holds him mostly responsible for taking his sisters away. He also dislikes Traxis and Eremin, but on a smaller scale - and I haven't quite figured out the reasoning behind that."

"But I'm _not Nantor," Pixel said in confusion._

"And I'm not Eremin," Helaine agreed, "nor is Score Traxis. But Chronos doesn't see who we are - only what we represent. He's convinced that we are the original Triad, and that we've just been playing games with the Diadem by pretending to be someone else. He made _that pretty clear when he attacked me on Dondar."_

"What?!" Score exclaimed, gaping at Helaine. "When did_ that happen?"_

"After you left to go pick up Pixel," Helaine said. "I left the castle immediately to warn you, but you were already gone. I told the unicorns not to go to the castle, and came here to wait for you. Right now he probably thinks I'm dead - I threw myself out a window and cast an illusion on my body on the ground. I don't think he realized I could use levitation."

"That's strange - if he knows you have the sapphire, wouldn't he figure that out?" Pixel murmured. 

The four magic-users looked at each other glumly, none of them sure about what to make of the situation. 

"Nothing Chronos has done has been predictable," Score said, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. "And sooner or later you _know he's going to realize Helaine's still alive." _

"And with Pixel's power level down," Helaine added, "it's going to be that much harder to beat him." 

"What we need is someone who _knows Chronos - someone who can give us an inside edge to the situation." Pixel looked thoughtful. Then, suddenly, he frowned. "Hey."_

"What?" Score, Helaine, and Shanara looked at him. 

Pixel looked at them worriedly. "What happened to Destiny?"

"_LET ME OUT OF HERE!" _

There was a loud _CLANG! as something metal struck something else metal, and then all was quiet as the sound reverberated through the empty hall and died a quiet death. Inside the single cell, a very pissed-off Destiny sat fuming, her voice hoarse and her throat dry from yelling for what felt like the last several hours. In reality she had no idea how long she'd been there - but one thing was for certain._

The moment she got out, the Omnipotent were going to pay. 

Dearly. 

Destiny groaned and flopped back on the single cot in the cell, her black hair falling into her face. She didn't bother pushing it aside. "This can't be happening," she growled. "I've got to get _out of here!" _

She'd heard the Omnipotent talking to Oracle, but no matter how many times and how loud she yelled, Oracle had never seemed to hear her. No doubt it was because the Omnipotent didn't _want him to hear her. She had no idea what they were up to, or why they were keeping her locked up, but she was willing to bet that it had something to do with Pixel._

_Pixel._

Destiny rolled over and rested her head on her folded arms. _Are you okay, Pixel? she thought. __Are you still alive? Did they figure out how to cure you? _

_Have you even noticed I'm not there?_

Somehow she knew he had - and from Oracle's reactions, she'd gotten the feeling that Pixel was in very good hands. But that didn't make the worry go away, or the ache in her chest that went along with it. 

She knew that the Omnipotent weren't done with Pixel, and the fact that they were keeping her around - locked up, but around - probably had something to do with it. She didn't know their reasons, but she knew that whatever happened, she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that he came out of it alive.

No matter how hard she had tried not to get close to anyone, Destiny knew she had failed. Pixel was definitely a friend. 

_Admit it, a little voice inside of her said. __He's a little more than that, too, isn't he?_

Before Destiny could think anymore on the subject, the sound of footsteps echoed through the hall. She sat up on the cot and looked out of the cell, waiting to see who was there. 

"Who's there?" she demanded. 

A figure stopped outside of the cell, looking at her. Then, slowly, the hood covering the person's face fell, their identity. 

Destiny gasped. "You!" 

Pixel stood in front of a large window in his new room in Shanara's castle. Helaine and Score had opted to stay on Rawn with him until they could figure out some way to fix his power level, and he was grateful for that - but oddly enough, if they had wanted to return to Dondar it wouldn't have bothered him much. During his time in the Void, he'd gotten somewhat used to being without those two. 

It was Destiny he was more worried about. 

When Score had told him what had happened to her, and when Oracle had shown up to give his two cents, Pixel had felt like someone had socked him in the stomach. He hadn't once thought that _Destiny could end up in trouble because of him. _

Suddenly the entire castle began to shake. 

"What the hell?" Pixel spun around and froze, not entirely sure about what was going on. When the shaking stopped, he sprinted to the door of the room and dashed out into the hallway. He could hear shouted voices from Shanara's scrying room. Three voices, to be exact. 

Shanara. 

Oracle.

And the Omnipotent.

"What's going?" Helaine demanded breathlessly as she ran out of another room, her hair wet from a recent shower. Score ran up behind them and grabbed their arms. 

"I don't know, but we better find out," he said, pulling them down the hallway. 

The door to the scrying room was closed, and they were met by Blink, who was sitting in front of it with his ear pressed up against it. Catching sight of the three teenagers, the red panda shook his head. "You don't want to go in there," he said. "It sounds like they're about to kill each other."

"What's going on?" Pixel demanded. "Why is the Omnipotent here?"

"Listen," Blink advised, going back to his eavesdropping.

Although listening in on other people's conversations was not one of their hobbies, Helaine, Score, and Pixel wasted no time in moving to the door and pressing their own ears against it. 

Not that it was really necessary - the volume of the voices was high enough to understand almost anything. 

"Why the hell would we have anything to do with this?" Shanara was shouting. "You told Oracle that Destiny had been sent back to where she'd come from! We had no idea she was still in the Inter-Realm!" 

"No one else could have escaped with her," the Omnipotent insisted. "We demand that you return her to us at once, or face dire consequences." 

"And we insist that leave here at one," Oracle said through what sounded like clenched teeth. "Get the hell out of this castle, and don't return. We have nothing to say to you."

"Do _not forget who you work for," the Omnipotent sneered. _

They heard Oracle laugh bitterly. "I thought we already went through this. I am in the service of Matthew Caruso, Helaine Votrin, and Shalar Domain. _Not you." _

"This will not be forgotten," the Omnipotent hissed. "Destiny _will be returned to us." _

There was silence immediately following this statement, and the three magic-users on the other side of the door (and one red panda) glanced at each other uneasily. 

Then the door swung open inward, and they all fell to the ground in a heap. 

"They're gone," Shanara said wearily. "Thank you for not barging in here, though." 

"Who was that?" Score asked, frowning.

"The Omnipotent," Shanara, Blink, Oracle, and Pixel replied in unison. 

Helaine's jaw dropped. "_Here? In here?" _

"In a way," Oracle replied. "Their voices were here - not their semi-physical bodies. And believe me, all they need to yell is their voices."

"They were talking about Destiny," Pixel said, cutting to chase. "What happened?"

"Apparently they lied to Oracle when they told him she had been returned to the after-life – which is pretty much what we figured," Shanara said, stroking Blink's back after he leaped up onto her lap. "She turned up missing not too long ago. They were accusing us of taking her."

"Which we didn't, of course," Oracle said. "They just wanted a convenient scapegoat." 

"Destiny's missing?" Pixel asked, paling.

"What do you think happened?" Score asked, reaching over and putting a comforting hand on the Calomiran's shoulder. "Did she escape? Or what?"

Shanara sighed. "That's the question of the day, isn't it?"

"There's only one thing to do for certain," Oracle said. "We have to find Destiny - wherever she is. We're going to need her help against Chronos."

"But how do we find her?" Helaine asked. "Especially since we don't know what happened to her." 

Blink cleared his throat and raised his head. "Well…I have an idea." 


End file.
